BV  4423  .H36  1919 


Hand-book  of  the  Mary  J 
Drexel  Home  and 


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Hand  Book  of  the 

mary  j.  drexel  home 

and  philadelphia 

motherhouse  of 

deaconesses 


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•^': 


HAND-BOOK 


OF    THE 


MARY  J.  DREXEL  HOME 


AND 


PHILADELPHIA  MOTHERHOUSE 


OF 


DEACONESSES 


1913 


JUN    12  1998 

l^fOtOGICAL  SE«f ^^ 


Inarb  of  EtiXBtnB. 


Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  STAAKE, 

Court  of  Common  Pleas  No.  5, 
City  Hall. 


G.  A.  SCHWARZ, 

1006  Chestnut  Street. 


S'rrrrtarg : 

Rev.  E.  F.  bach  MANN, 

2roo  S.  College  Avenue 


(Hrf  asurrr : 

EDMUND  R.  TEUBNER, 
S.  E.  Cor.  Chestnut  and  Fifth  Sts. 


Hon.  WiLLiAiM  H.  Staake,  W.  P.  M.  Braun, 

G.  A.  ScHWARz,  Frederick  C.  Hassold, 

Rev.  G.  C.  Berkemeier,  D.D.,      Rev.  G.  W.  Sandt,  D.D., 
Rev.  Samuel  Laird,  D.D.,  Prof.  H.  Offermann,  D.D., 

E.  Clarence  Miller. 


iEx-aflSrio : 

Rev.  E.  F.  Bachmann,   Pastor. 
Sister  Wilhelmine  Dittmann,  Sister  Superior. 
'~:»t^i^5i*f- 

Rev.  Hugo  C.  M.  Wendel,  Assistant  to  the  Paste. r 


Staake  and  Pat  ton,  Solicitors 


I^osptlal  ^taflT. 


itappttaarg  i>taff. 


Visiting  Su}-geo)is 

John  B.  Deaver,  M.D., 

1634  Walnut  Street. 

Harry  C.  Deaver,  M.D., 

1534  N.  Fifteenth  Street. 

Assistant 

E.  G.  Alexander,  M.D., 

1627  Oxford  Street. 

Visiti7ig  Physicians 

Alfred  Hand,  Jr.  M.D. 

1724  Pine  Street. 

Chas  A.  Fife,  M.D., 
2033  Locust  Street. 

J.  K.  Walker,  M.D., 
1632  Spruce  Street. 

Opthalmologist 

Charles  S.  Turnbull,  M.  D., 

1935  Chestnut  Street. 

Assistant 
J.  C.  Knipe,  M.D., 
2035  Chestnut  Street. 

Laryngologist  and  Otologist 

Arthur  A.  Bliss,  M.D. ,t 

117  S.  Twentieth  Street. 

Assistants 
C.  L.  Manning,  M.D., 
35  S.  Nineteenth  Street. 

C.    W.  SCHAEFFER,   M.D., 

117  S.  Twentieth  Street. 

Chief  of  Pathological  and  Bacteri- 
ological Department 
Damon  B.  Pfeiffer,  M.D., 
2028  Pine  Street. 

Chief  of  X- Ray  Department 
Albert  G.  Miller,  M.D., 
2150  N.  Twenty-first  Street. 

Resident  Physician 
G.  Lee  Hynson,  M.D. 


Medical 
H.  K.  Dillard,  M.D., 
234  S.  Twentieth  Street. 

Sylvester  J.  Deehan,  M.D., 
843  N.  Twenty-fourth  Street. 

Frederick  O.  Wagge,  M.D., 
4104  Girard  Avenue. 

Surgical 

Joseph  Schenberg,  M.D., 

426  N.  Fifty-third  Street. 

E.  G.  Alexander,  M.D., 
1627  Oxford  Street. 

J.  Rex  Hobensack,  M.D., 
1706  Columbia  Avenue. 

Diseases  oftheEar.NoseandThroat 
C.  L.  Manning,  M.D., 
36  S.  Nineteenth  Street 

Joseph  Schenberg,  M.D., 

426  N.  Fifty-third  Street 

C.  W.    SCHAEFFER,  M.D., 
117  S    Twentieth  Street. 

Diseases  of  the  Eye 

J.  C.  Knife,  M.D., 

2035  Chestnut  Street. 

J.  J.  Stanton,  M.D., 
23d  and  Oxford  Streets. 


t  Died  May  i,  191 3  ;  Successor  not  yet  appointed. 


S^xBtnB 


NAME 


Entered 


Consecrated 


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2 

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5 

6 

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«4_ 


Wilhelmine  Dittmann,  S.  Superior 

Marianne  Kratzer 

Magdalene  von  Bracht 

Katharine  Bossert 

Marie  Sowa 

Anna  Baumgarten 

Emma   Carlson 

Else  Dodenhoff 

Christiane  Dorr 

Rosa  Dittricli 

Emilie  Schwarz 

Julie  Mergner 

Marie   Roeck 

Lydia  Klein 

Marie  Koeneke 

Mary    Barbehenn 

Anna  Marie  Enderlein 

Louise  Frey 

Veronica  Eich 

Margaretlie    Weller 

lyina  Beideck 

Friederike  Ostermann 

Eleonore  Diehl 

Lydia  Strempfer 

Margaret  Schueder 

Margaretlie  Schultze 

Emma   Tappert 

Flora   Moyer 

Louise  Wackernagel 

Gottliebin  Koch 

Elisabeth  Kulinle 

Katharine  Mauntz 

Hannah  Christmann 

Frieda  Broecker 

Auguste  Hirsch 

Christine  Rothenbach 

Lina  Keppel 

Elisabeth  Heun 

Johanna  Hertel 

Edith  Stagg 

Alice  Fisher 

Margarethe  Heinbockel 

Ada  Stedtler 

Anna  Mayer 

Viola  Sheaflfer 

Mane  Wizemann 

Louise  Altvater 

Laura  Bitting 

Marie  Munz 

Bertha  Mueller 

Martha  Frey 

Marie  Gerndt 

Mary  Cassel 

Marie  Koch 

Emilie  Goldhagen 

MX. 


June  19, 
June  19, 
June  19, 
Jan.  23, 
Jan.  II, 
Feb.  2, 
Sept.  20, 
Jan.  13, 
Mar.  17, 
Aug.  7, 
July  6, 
June  30, 
Oct.  I, 
Mar.  27, 
May  5, 

July  15. 

July  23, 
Sept.  20, 
Oct.  16, 
Mar.  iS, 
Sept.  4, 
Nov.  23, 
Nov.  2, 
Oct.  19, 
Oct,  19, 
Aug.  9, 
Sept.  16, 
Oct.  I, 
Oct.  7, 
May  6, 
July  6, 
July  24, 
Sept.  19, 
Sept.  19, 
Oct.  12, 
Nov.  ir, 
Jan.  13, 
Sept.  24, 
Sept.  30, 
Oct.  I, 
Oct.  9, 
Oct.  7. 
Feb.  I, 
May  I, 
April  23, 
Oct.  8, 
Sept.  28, 
Oct'.  31, 
Aug.  7, 
Sept.  2, 
Aug,  17, 
Oct.  I, 
Oct.  4, 
Jan.  12, 
Aug.  15, 


884 
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903 
904 


April  22 
April  22 
April  22 
Jan.  13 
Jan.  13 
Oct.  3 
May  24 
Oct.  I 
Oct.  I 
June  18 
Oct.  3 
May  24 
May  24 
May  24 
May  24 
June  6 
June  6 
June  6 
May  24 
June  6 
May  29 
May  29 
June  3 
June  3 
June  3 
May  26 
June  3 
May  26 
Mav  26 
Ma'v  18 
May  18 
May  18 
May  18 
May  18 
May  31 
May  31 
May  22 
May  22 
Ma}'  22 
May  31 
May  31 
June  3 
June  3 
June  7 
June  3 
June  7 
June  3 
June  3 
May  30 
May  30, 
May  30 
June  7 
June  7 
May  30 
May   30 


(6 


Probattonprs 


NAME 


Entered        Consecrated 


82 


Ainalie  Hartwig 

Louise  Cluss 

Friederike  Cluss 

Ada   Madden 

Cora  Wagner 

Alwine  Stadtliinder    .    .    . 

Ella   Koch 

Thekla   Daly 

Henriette  Hertz 

Anna  Adelheid  Koster  .  . 
Elizabeth  Grunow  .... 
Anna  Magd.  Scheyhing  . 
Emma  Knipscheer  .    .    .    . 

Edith  Bube 

Grace  Lauer 

EmilieFischer 

Friederike  Fessler  .    .    .    . 

Marie   Preuss 

Mary   Berntsen 

Bertha  Reissig 

Frieda  VVente 

Margarethe  Rothenhnuser 

Laurette  Nelson 

Mary  Wenrich 

vSarah  Westley 

Elisabeth  Leister  .... 
Maude  Auchenbach    .    .    . 


Oct.  5, 
Oct.  I, 
Sept.  30, 
Sept.  17, 
April  30, 
May  4, 
May  4, 
Sept.  29, 
Dec.  I, 
Sept.  5, 
Sept.  14, 
Oct.  2, 
May  2, 
May  2, 
Sept.  19, 
Oct.  I, 
Oct.  8, 
Jan.    23, 

July  I. 
Oct.  I, 
Jan.  19, 
April    I, 

July  19. 

Sept.  2, 
Sept.  30, 
Oct.  2, 
Oct.     4, 


1901 
1906 
1907 
1907 
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1 90S 
1 90S 
1 90S 
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1911 
1911 
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May   II,   1913 
May  II,    1913 


(7) 


JOHN      D.      LANKENAU 


The  dedication  of  the  beautiful  building  of  the  Mary  J.  DrexelHome 
AND  PhiladeIvPHIA  Motherhouse  OF  DEACONESSES,  twenty-five  years 
ago,  attracted  much  attention  in  this  country  and  abroad  as  evidence  of  the 
fact  that  the  female  diaconate,  transplanted  from  Germany  four  years  before, 
had  taken  root  and  had  come  to  stay.  We  now  offer  this  "Hand-book"  as  a 
brief  record  of  the  development  of  this  work  during  its  first  quarter  of  a 
century,  which  for  obvious  reasons  will  remain  the  most  important  period 
in  the  history  of  the  Motherhouse.  Foundations  were  laid,  methods  tested, 
problems  solved  and  general  direction  and  character  given  to  the  work. 
This  summarized  survey  of  the  past  development  may  be  interesting  to  the 
casual  reader,  but  will  certainly  be  valuable  to  those  engaged  in  similar 
lines  of  work  as  well  as  to  anyone  desiring  to  enter  the  diaconate.  For  this 
reason  the  general  principles  and  the  early  history  of  the  deaconess  work 
have  likewise  been  retained  from  the  "Annual"  formerly  published  by  us 
and  familiar  to  all  our  friends. 

A  brief  glance  at  the  report  of  last  year's  work  will  assure  the  thought- 
ful that  the  Motherhouse  is  endeavoring  to  be  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  its 
duties.  It  has  not  been  unmindful  of  the  important  changes  in  the  social 
and  religious  life  of  our  people  during  the  past  years,  but  has  adjusted 
itself  to  them  as  far  as  possible,  in  order  to  render  really  effective  service. 
The  Church  was  fortunate  in  having  established  in  her  midst  an  institution 
for  the  training  of  deaconesses  more  than  a  decade  before  the  Inner  Mission 
movement  stirred  our  people  and  the  Social  Service  ideas  took  more  definite 
shape  and  resulted  in  aggressive  action  ;  both  have  impressed  the  Church 
with  the  fact  that  little  can  be  accomplished  by  inexperienced  and  untrained 
volunteers.  The  great  demand  for  deaconesses  in  institutions  and  congre- 
gations is  far  in  excess  of  the  number  of  Sisters  at  our  disposal,  and  in  the 
interest  of  the  Church  and  the  great  problems  before  her  we  hope  consecrated 
young  women  throughout  the  church  will  soon  begin  to  realize  more 
definitely  the  opportunities  and  blessings  offered  them  by  the  diaconate. 
Yet  we  have  reason  to  thank  God  for  those  who  have  come  to  us.  At  the 
dedication  of  the  Motherhouse  our  Sisterhood  consisted  of  23  ;  to-day,  of  82, 
showing  a  gain  even  somewhat  larger  in  proportion  than  that  of  the  Kaisers- 
werth  Conference,  which  reported  7,129  Sisters  in  1888,  and  21,975  in  1913. 
Of  no  less  importance  is  the  broadening  of  the  scope  of  our  work.  Twenty- 
five  years  ago  the  Motherhouse  was  limited  to  its  home  for  aged  men  and 
women  ;  but  five  years  later  an  amendment  to  the  charter  authorized  the 
establishment  of  "a  hospital  for  children,  a  high-school  for  girls,  and  any 
similar  extension  of  the  objects  of  the  foundation"  .  .  .  "in  the  City  of 
Philadelphia,  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  or  in  other  States,  if  required." 
Thus  the  way  has  been  opened  to  great  expansion  in  the  future.  It  rests, 
under  God,  with  the  Church,  and  particularly  with  her  young  women, 
whether  the  Motherhouse  shall  be  the  medium  of  still  greater  blessings  even 
beyond  its  present  fields  of  labor.  May  the  perusal  of  the  following  pages 
result  in  a  clearer  conception  of  the  female  diaconate  and  in  a  more  rapid 
increase  of  thoroughly  efficient  and  consecrated  workers  ! 

Philadelphia,  October  16th,  1913. 


PART  FIRST. 

A.— NATURE  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  DIACONATE. 

Diakonia  means,  in  general,  ministry,  service;  but  even  in 
ihe  New  Testament  it  denotes  in  a  general  sense  the  office 
(ministry)  of  the  appointed  Deacons  (1  Tim.  3:8),  or  Deacon- 
esses (Rom.  16:1),  whose  duties  were  to  care  for  the  poor 
and  sick  of  the  congregation.  CiuTent  church-usage  under- 
stands by  the  term  "diaconate"  the  ministering"  in  works  of 
mercy  under  the  control  of  the  Church.  Our  present  diaconate 
corresponds  to,  and  springs  from,  the  Biblical  and  apostolic 
office  of  Deacon  (or  Deaconess).  It  is  the  exercise  of  a  love 
born  of  li\ing  faith  in  Christ,  towards  the  helpless  and  needy 
of  whatever  kind,  such  ministr}-  being  undertaken  as  a  life- 
vocation  and  officially  recognized  and  regulated  by  the  Church. 
As  a  ser\ice  done  in  gratitude  and  love  to  the  Lord,  it  is 
performed  voluntarily,  without  compulsion  and  without  re- 
ward. AMiere  such  service  is  rendered  by  women,  it  is  called 
the  Female  Diaconate. 

Every  Deaconess  Motherhouse,  our  own  included,  is  in- 
tended for  the  planting  and  development  of  the  Diaconate,  and 
offers  to  Christian  women  wdio  wish  to  devote  themselves  to 
this  ministry  of  mercy,  the  necessary  training,  the  communion 
in  the  life  of  the  Sisterhood,  and  a  permanent  home.  In  the 
first  place,  then,  it  is  to  be  a  training-school  where  Christian 
women  are  fitted  for  this  vocation.  The  necessary  provision 
for  this  is  made  by  a  preliminary  course  for  beginners,  and 
the  continued  instruction  of  all  the  -Sisters.  Again,  the 
Motherhouse  offers  the  blessings  and  advantages  of  a  firmly 
organized  and  well-regulated  communion,  for  the  protection, 
assistance,  and  improvement  of  each  individual.  This  com- 
m.union   rests  primarily  on   the  religious  basis   of  a  common 

(lO) 


faith  and  confession,  and  is  constantly  nurtured  by  the  beauti- 
ful services  of  the  Lord's  house.  Besides  these  blessings, 
which  it  has  in  common  with  every  Christian  congregation, 
the  Motherhouse  offers  a  compensation  for  the  home  and 
family  life,  which  those  who  enter  it  have  given  up  for  the 
sake  of  their  vocation.  A  loving  confidence  and  willing  obedi- 
ence to  their  superiors,  and  a  sisterly  attachment  to  their  as- 
sociates, give  to  the  iNIotherhouse  the  desired  home  atmos- 
phere, and  to  the  individual  member  a  feeling  of  belonging 
to  this  great  family,  united  by  the  bonds  of  common  faith, 
love,  and  service.  ]\Iore  surely  even  than  the  family  home, 
the  Motherhouse  secures  to  its  daughters  the  protection  of  a 
home  under  all  circumstances,  especially  in  case  of  sickness  or 
of  the  enforced  inactivity  of  age.  At  the  same  time  the  com- 
pact organization  and  strict  order  of  the  INIotherhouse  give 
to  each  Sister  the  necessary  wholesome  direction  and  sound 
basis  of  her  whole  life-work.  Even  the  less  gifted  find  their 
appropriate  employment  in  positions  which  bring  out  their 
best  gifts  and  qualities.  Finally,  the  Motherhouse  forms  a 
centre  from  which  those  who  come  to  it  from  different  parts 
of  the  country  for  training,  can  be  sent  out  again  wherever 
their  services  may  be  most  needed  and  may  prove  most  efifi- 
cient. 

In  the  organization  of  our  Motherhouse  the  general  over- 
sight and  its  representation  before  the  public  belong  to  the 
Board  of  Trustees.  The  Pastor  and  the  Oberin  (Sister  Su- 
perior) are  ex-officio  members  of  the  Board,  with  the  right  to 
vote.  At  its  regular  monthly  meetings  the  Board  receives 
the  reports  of  the  Pastor  and  the  Oberin,  and  discusses  and 
decides  all  that  belongs  to  the  general  management  of  the 
institution,  especially  the  business  afifairs. 

The  institution  is  connected  with  the  Lutheran  Church 
(General  Council),  inasmuch  as  the  Pastor  must  be  a  member 
of  the  INIinisterium  of  Pennsylvania,  and  annually  reports  to 
that  body  on  the  work  of  the  Motherhouse.  The  inmates  of 
the  house  constitute  a  congregation,  in  which  the  Pastor  per- 
forms all  ministerial  acts.  Pastor  and  Oberin  together  con- 
stitute the  Directory  of  the  Motherhouse  with  all  its  branches. 

(II) 


A  Deaconess  is  a  Christian  woman  (unmarried,  or  widow 
without  children)  who,  from  love  to  her  Lord  and  in  gratitude 
to  her  Saviour,  has  made  it  her  life-work  to  serve  Him  in  His 
poor  and  needy  members,  and  who,  in  order  to  carry  out  this 
vocation  of  ministering  love,  has  voluntarily  joined  the  Dea- 
coness Mother  house,  performing  her  functions  under  its  direc- 
tion and  retaining  her  membership  in  it  as  long  as  she  serves 
the  Lord  in  this  ministry. 

Deaconesses  are  called  Sisters  because  of  their  fellowship 
of  faith  and  love  in  Christ  as  the  daughters  of  one  Mother- 
house,  and  because  they  are  to  minister  to  those  who  are 
committed  to  their  care,  in  true  sisterly  love. 

To  designate  their  office,  the  Sisters  w^ear  a  special  garb 
which  is,  how^ever,  not  the  habit  of  an  order.  This  garb  or 
habit  is  meant  to  be  nothing  more  than  a  dignified,  practical, 
plain,  and  inexpensive  dress,  not  subject  to  the  changes  of 
fashion,  and  corresponding  in  the  main  to  the  plain  attire 
in  vogue  during  the  first  half  of  this  century,  when  the 
Female  Diaconate  was  revived.  The  habit  is  of  value  not 
only  because  of  its  neatness,  but  also  because  it  secures  to  the 
Sisters  a  large  measure  of  support  and  protection  in  their 
w^ork. 

Li  the  Sisterhood  are  Xursing  Sisters,  Teaching  Sisters, 
and  Parish  Sisters,  according  to  the  three  principal  spheres 
of  their  ministry,  the  care  of  the  sick  and  the  needy,  the  in- 
struction and  training  of  the  young,  and  the  assistance  of 
pastors  in  such  work  as  these  may  assign  them. 

The  Deaconesses  of  our  Home  are  Christian  women 
of  the  Lutheran  faith.  After  a  preliminary  time  of  probation, 
extending  over  six  months  or  more,  they  are  received  as  regu- 
lar probationers,  provided  they  have  proven  themselves  quali- 
fied for  the  service.  At  this  point  they  receive  the  garb  of 
the  Deaconesses,  on  the  solemn  and  formal  promise  made  by 
them  to  the  Pastor  and  the  Oberin,  that  they  will  faithfully 
obey  their  superiors,  and  abide  by  all  the  rules  and  regula- 
tions of  the  house.  Having  for  several  years  served  acceptably 
as  probationers,  tl>e}'  are,  with  the  approval  of  all  the  conse- 
crated Sisters,  set  apart  to  their  office  by  the  laying  on  of 
hands. 

(13) 


The  Deaconess  differs  from  the  Roman  Catholic  Sister  of 
Charity  in  this,  that  she  does  not  claim  a  peculiar  holiness, 
or  a  special  heavenly  reward  by  reason  of  her  service  and 
vocation.  She  knows  very  well  that  her  w^ork  is  not  in  itself 
more  holy  and  pleasing  to  God  than  any  other  in  which  true 
Christian  faith  and  love  are  exhibited ;  that  she  cannot  merit 
anything-  before  God ;  and  that  her  salvation  is  assured  her 
by  free  grace,  through  the  merit  of  Christ  alone,  which  she 
must  apprehend  by  faith.  Another  point  of  dift'erence  between 
the  Deaconess  and  the  Roman  Catholic  Sister  is  this,  that 
the  former  does  not  separate  herself  from  the  world  and  her 
own  family,  but  performs  her  service  in  the  world  in  true 
evangelical  liberty,  keeping  up  her  connection  with  her  family 
as  far  as  her  duties,  as  in  any  other  vocation,  permit  her  to 
do  so.  True,  she  promises  at  her  admission  to  the  Sisterhood 
and  especially  at  her  consecration,  to  discharge  the  duties  of 
her  office  with  all  the  strength  the  Lord  has  granted  her,  and 
to  yield  a  childlike  and  willing  obedience  to  the  directions  of 
her  superiors ;  but  this  is  merely  her  baptismal  and  confirma- 
tion vow  practically  applied.  She  is  bound  to  the  Lord,  but 
not  forever  to  this  particular  form  of  service.  Whatever  she 
does  in  the  service  of  her  Lord'  is  done  with  the  full  liberty  of 
the  Christian. 

It  is  true  she  has  in  her  own  heart,  though  not  by  public 
profession,  renounced  marriage  for  the  sake  of  that  vocation 
which  is  to  be  her  life-work.  But  she  does  not  thereby  imag- 
ine that  she  lives  in  a  more  holy  and  meritorious  estate  than 
any  believing,  faithful  wife.  She  is  free  at  any  time  to  give 
up  her  vocation,  whenever  after  prayerful  consideration  she  is 
convinced  that  the  Lord  is  pointing  her  to  a  married  life,  to 
serve  Him  in  that  estate.  No  one  has  a  right  to  blame  her 
for  that,  and  she  will  be  honorably  dismissed,  provided  that 
she  has  also  in  this  matter  been  acting  fairly  and  honorably 
toward  her  Alotherhouse. 

The  Deaconess  also  willingly  assumes  a  plain  and  simple 
life,  without  extravagance  and  luxury,  as  an  humble  hand- 
maid of  the  Lord,  because  her  vocation  and  ministry  demand 
this  of  her.     But  no  one  urges  upon  her  a  self-imposed,  merit- 

(14) 


orious  poverty  ;  she  retains  full  possession  .of  her  private  means 
and  the  free  disposition  of  the  same. 

From  the  "Trained  Nurse"  the  Deaconess  differs  in  this, 
that  whilst  receiving  her  necessary  support  from  the  Mother- 
house,  she  does  not  take  any  payment  for  her  services,  as 
they  are  primarily  rendered  to  the  Lord,  nor  will  she  accept 
gifts  from  those  who  are  committed  to  her  care.  Her  only 
reward  is  the  blessed  consciousness :  I  am  privileged  to  serve 
my  Lord  and  to  do  my  modest  share  in  the  work  of  His  king- 
dom. 

This  latter  principle  distinguishes  the  work  of  the  Deacon- 
ess also  from  all  purely  humanitarian  efforts  in  similar  spheres 
of  philanthropic  work.  In  distinction  from  these  and  from  the 
work  of  the  trained  nurse,  the  Deaconess  is  also  to  care  for 
the  souls  of  those  whom  she  nurses.  She  is  the  assistant  and 
co-worker  not  only  of  the  physician,  but  likewise  of  the  pas- 
tor. But  the  ministry  of  the  Word  is  not  committed  to  her 
irtdgpendently,  nor  is  she  ex]5ected  to  make  proselytes  for  her 
denomtuation.  She  nurses  all  her  sick  without  distinction  of 
creed ;  and  wherever  it  is  desired,  she  is  bound  to  procure  for 
her  patient  a  clergyman  of  the  denomination  to  which  he 
belongs. 

B.— HISTORICAL  REVIEW. 
I. — The  Diaconate  of  the  Ancient  Church. 

The  service  of  gratitude  rendered  the  Lord  is  as  old  as 
Christianity.  The  work  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  came  to 
minister  and  to  give  His  life  as  a  ransom  for  many,  from  the 
very  beginning  influenced  grateful  hearts  to  render  Him  a 
counter  service.  Of  such  loyal  servants  of  Llim  who  was  their 
Lord  and  Master,  Scripture  tells  us  that  they  served  Him  in 
faithful  imitation  and  in  complete  surrender  of  their  entire 
being.  Thus  it  is  said  of  the  mother-in-law  of  Peter  that  after 
her  miraculous  cure  "she  served  them,"  i.  e.,  the  Lord  and 
His  own.  And  especially  were  the  women  to  whom  the  ad- 
vent of  the  Lord  Jesus  brought  the  greatest  gift  in  freeing 
their  souls  and  bodies  from  shameful  slavery,  ever  ready  to 
render  service  to  Him  during  His  sojourn  on  earth  (Luke  8: 

('5) 


2,  3).  They  were  His  true  followers  even  up  to  the  cross 
(John  19:25;  Luke  23:49). 

The  office  of  the  Diaconate,  instituted  for  the  systematic 
care  of  the  poor,  is  one  of  tire  very  oldest  in  the  Church.  In 
fact,  it  was  this  office  which  was  first  of  all  separated  from 
tJTc  distincti\-e  office  of  the  Apostolate,  which  at  first  em- 
braced the  entire  congregational  service.  But  w^ith  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  congregation  at  Jerusalem,  the  demands  on  the 
Apostles  became  correspondingly  great,  and  when  finally  the 
insufficiency  of  their  limited  oversight  in  the  care  of  the  poor 
members  of  the  Church  gave  cause  for  dissatisfaction,  the 
twehe  instituted  the  office  of  Deacons,  by  having  seven  men 
chosen  "to  serve  at  tables,"  i.  e.,  to  have  the  supervision 
of  the  distribution  of  food,  clothing,  etc.,  to  the  poor  in  the 
congregation  (Acts  6:3-6).  In  this  passage  w^e  find  men- 
tioned the  necessary  qualifications  of  deacons  :  they  must  be 
"men  of  honest  report,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  wisdom," 
to  which  St.  Paul  (1  Tim.  3:  8-10,  12,  13)  adds  further  con- 
ditions and  regulations  belonging  to  this  office. 

While  nothing  is  said  in  the  N<iw  Testament  concerning 
the  establishment  of  the  office  of  Deaconesses,  there  is  in  Rom. 
16:  1,  2,  a  direct  mention  of  a  duly  appointed  sister:  "Phebe, 
our  sister,  which  is  a  servant  (Greek:  diakonos)  of  the  church 
which  is  at  Cenchrea."  (The  form  "diakonissa"  belongs  to 
a  later  time.)  The  sister  mentioned  here,  the  first  deaconess 
known  to  us,  is  entrusted  with  the  high  and  sacred  duty  of 
delivering  the  letter  of  the  great  Apostle  to  the  congregation 
at  Rome.  1  Tim.  3:11  is  also  to  be  taken  as  a  reference  to 
the  office  of  deaconesses.  The  entire  contents  of  this  passage 
seem  to  prove  clearly  that  the  correct  translation  is  not  "their 
wives"  (A.  V.)  but  "the  women,"  as  the  Revised  \''ersion 
has  it,  i.e.,  the  women  in  the  office  of  the  diaconate. 

In  the  time  immediately  following  the  apostolic  era,  up 
to  the  fourth  century,  we  find  but  one  mention  of  deaconesses, 
and  that  about  110  A.  D.  in  the  report  of  the  Roman  Go\'ernor 
Pliny  to  the  Emperor  Trajanus  concerning  the  life  and  habits 
of  the  Christians.  The  conscientious  official  is  unable  to  dis- 
cover an}'  e\"il  among  them  in  spite  of  his  persistent  efiforts 
and  inquiries,  even  the  rack,  so  characteristic  of  the  Roman 

rT7) 


method,  pro\  ini;-  unavailing.  "In  order  to  get  at  the  truth  of 
the  matter,"  he  writes,  "1  deemed  it  necessary  to  put  to  the 
rack  two  maids,  called  by  the  Christians  ''diacoiiisscr.''  But 
I  was  unable  to  get  anything  out  of  them,  save  a  most  corrupt 
and  boundless  superstition." 

In  the  fourth  century  this  office  attained  its  highest 
development.  While  the  deacons  more  and  more  tilled  the 
rank  of  the  lower  clergy,  assisting  in  the  ministration  of 
the  \\'ord,  the  deaconesses  remained  within  the  sphere  of  the 
original  duties  of  the  office,  namely,  that  of  helpers  under  the 
direction  of  the  regular  clergy.  A\'e  read  that  they  were 
inducted  into  their  office  by  the  bishop,  with  prayer  and  the 
laying  on  of  hands;  and  the  "Apostolic  Constitutions"  dating 
from  those  times,  give  us  word  for  word  the  intercessory  prayer 
made  for  deaconesses,  the  prayer  which  we  still  use  in  the 
consecration  of  our  Sisters.  The  same  ancient  document  bear? 
testimony  to  the  value  of  the  deaconesses  in  all  manner  of 
church  services.  Their  duties  consisted  in  acting  as  door- 
keepers and  ushers  at  the  women's  entrance  of  the  sanctuary 
and  as  intermediaries  between  the  females  of  the  congregation 
and  their  bishop,  in  preparing  female  catechumens  for  bap- 
tism, and  assisting  in  their  baptism.  To  this  was  added  the 
congregational  care  of  the  sick  and  poor  and  imprisoned,  es- 
pecially among  women  and  children. 

There  were  many  deaconesses  in  those  times.  As  an  ex- 
ample V\-e  may  mention  tlie  sisters,  forty  in  all.  who  labored 
under  the  supervision  of  Chrysostom,  while  he  was  bishop 
of  Constantinople  (v397-407).  Some  of  these  sisters  were 
women  of  nrible  rank,  aniong  them  the  wealthy  and  vouthful 
widow  Olympias,  the  faithful  and  influential  aid  of  her  bishop. 
Chrysostom,  in  his  service  of  the  Church  and  in  the  struggle 
against  the  unbelief  and  immorality  of  the  court ;  and  ]\Iakrina. 
left  by  death  a  virgin  bride,  the  deeply  devout  sister  of  Basil 
the  Great  and  of  Gregory  of  Nyssa. 

But  this  period  of  glorious  develi;>pment  was  brief.  As 
early  as  the  fifth  century  there  began  the  rapid  decline  of  the 
Diaconate.  The  causes  were:  (1)  The  removal  of  the  Church 
center  from  the  East  to  the  West.  Avhere  women  were  per- 
mitted to  move  more  freely  among  men.  making  the  office  of 

(tS) 


a  female  intermediary  between  the  women  and  their  pastor 
unnecessary ;  (2)  the  marked  decrease  of  adult  baptisms  as 
the  nations  became  Christianized:  (3)  and  above  all,  the  grad- 
ual loss  of  the  Gospel  and  with  it  the  rapid  growth  of  monastic 
orders.  A  living-  faith  in  the  Saviour,  and  practical,  heartfelt 
love  for  Him,  were  now  to  give  place  to  self-righteousness, 
super-holiness,  and  seclusion  from  the  world. 

But  few  traces  of  this  office  remained  in  the  Western 
Church  up  to  800  and  in  the  Eastern  Church  to  1200.  "The 
office  of  evangelical  love  was  killed  by  the  gravediggers  of 
evangelical  faith.  Where  living  faith  is  the  tree,  there  alone 
the  office  of  evangelical  love,  regulated  by  the  Church,  will 
find  means  of  flourishing;  for  this  is  a  love  which  serves  not 
for  the  sake  of  wages  and  honor,  but  in  gratitude  for  divine 
grace  experienced  in  the  heart." 

II. — The  Revival  of  the  Female  Diaconate. 

This  revival  did  not  come  with  the  Reformation,  and  yet 
the  Reformation  did  the  best  work  for  the  future  renewal  of 
the  office.  The  abrogation  of  the  doctrine  of  meritorious 
works  and  the  emphasis  laid  on  the  merit  of  Christ  alone,  on 
faith  in  Him,  and  on  a  grateful  and  willing  communion  of  faith 
with  Him  and  service  to  Him,  certainly  laid  the  foundation 
for  the  Diaconate  of  our  time.  "Good,  pious  works  never 
make  a  good,  pious  man,  but  a  good,  pious  man  performs  good, 
pious  works.  Faith  is  a  sure,  desperately  bold  confidence 
in  the  grace  of  God.  so  sure  of  it,  that  it  would  for  this  trust 
die  a  thousand  times.  And  for  this  reason,  without  any  co- 
ercion, a  man  is  made  willing  and  eager  to  do  good  to  every 
one,  to  serve  all,  to  suffer  many  things,  for  the  love  and  praise 
of  God,  who  has  shown  him  so  much  grace.  Therefore  it  is 
quite  impossible  to  separate  works  from  faith,  just  as  impos- 
sible, in  fact,  as  it  would  be  to  separate  heat  and  light  from 
fire."  These  golden  words  of  Luther  were  as  much  a  means  of 
establishing  the  Diaconate,  as  of  destroying  monasteries  and 
nunneries.  In  fact,  the  great  reformer  had  the  verA^  highest 
opinion  of  the  peculiar  gifts  and  duties  of  woman  in  such 
service.     "A\'omen,"  he   says,  "who  love   godliness,   generally 

(19) 


have  the  special  grace  to  comfort  others,  and  to  soothe  their 
pains."  At  the  same  time  he  freely  confesses  that  'Sve  have 
not,  the  necessary  persons  for  such  an  office  (i.  e.,  for  the  es 
tablishment  of  the  Diaconate).  Therefore  I  will  not  trust 
myself  to  begin  it  until  our  Lord  God  makes  real  Christians." 
It  is  true,  we  find  isolated  beginnings  in  this  direction  made 
in  that  glorious  time  of  the  new  life  of  the  Church,  but  they 
soon  disappeared,  and  thus  the  traces  of  this  office  in  the  Re- 
formed Church  of  the  Lower  Rhine  region  and  of  Holland 
were  sporadic  and  temporary.  It  was  only  in  Mennonite  con- 
gregations of  Germany  and  Holland  that  the  office  was  pre- 
served up  to  the  nineteenth  century,  and  it  was  here  that 
Fliedner  first  came  into  touch  with  this  institution,  which,  in 
the  providence  of  God,  he  was  to  transplant  into  the  Evan- 
i?elical  Church  of  Germany.  Scarcely  had  the  evangelical  por- 
tion of  the  German  people,  led  through  severe  judgment  and 
divine  help  in  the  wars  of  liberation  from  the  tyranny  of  Na- 
poleon, awakened  to  a  new  life  of  faith;  scarcely  had  the 
gauntlet  thrown  down  by  the  modern  Rationalism  been  taken 
up  boldly  by  the  old  true  faith  of  the  fathers,  when  also  the 
life  of  love  began  anew  in  the  Church.  The  lack  of  a  well- 
ordered  system  in  works  of  mercy  by  women  was  every- 
where felt  in  orthodox  circles,  j  Pious  members  of  the  Church, 
the  Minister  von  Stein  and  Amalie  Sieveking  made  efforts  to 
provide  for  this  want,  but  without  effect.  Their  energies  were 
spent  in  the  effort  to  imitate  in  the  Evangelical  Church  the 
Roman  Catholic  sisterhoods  of  mercy.  "We  wish,"  said  Am- 
alie Sieveking,  "to  have  something  of  like  nature  in  the  Prot- 
estant Church."  However,  the  manifest  blessing  of  God  did 
not  rest  on  the  work  .until  it  became  grounded  on  the  Diac- 
onate of  apostolic  times  and  ceased  to  be  merely  an  attempted 
imitation  of  the  Roman  Catholic  institution. 

The  first  to  turn  the  work  into  this  channel  was  Johann 
Adolph  Kloenne,  pastor  in  the  Lower  Rhine  Province  (tl834). 
This  faithful  servant  of  the  Lord,  w^ith  a  warm  heart  for 
every  effort  of  building  up  the  kingdom  of  God,  saw  clearly 
the  necessity  of  a  re-establishment  of  the  Female  Diaconate, 
and  published  as  early  as  1820  an  essay  on  "The  Revival  of  the 
Deaconess  Work  of  the  Ancient   Church  in   our   Ladies'  Aid 

(21) 


Societies.'"  This  essay  he  sent  to  persons  of  iniUience,  be- 
longing to  the  orthodox  wing,  and  they  assured  him  of  their 
complete  and  hearty  approval.  He  found  a  strong  champion 
and  co-worker  in  the  person  of  the  noble  Count  von  der  Recke 
V'olmerstein,  who  had  done  much  for  practical  Christian  phil- 
anthropy in  founding  the  Rescue  Mission  in  Diisselthal.  In 
1835  he  began  writing  and  working  for  a  renewal  of  the  ofifice 
of  Deaconesses  and  soon  received  the  support  of  the  pious 
Prussian  king,  Frederick  William  IV.  We  quote  the  follow- 
ing from  a  letter  written  by  William  to  the  Count :  "The  re- 
\ival  of  this  office  has  been  a  cherished  ideal  with  me  for 
many  Acars,  for  I  am  confident  that  it  is  one  of  the  many 
things  which  our  church  communion  really  needs  and  lacks." 

But  the  realization  of  the  great  plans  fostered  by  these 
brave  Christian  men  was  to  be  eft'ected  by  that  faithful  wit- 
ness of  the  Gospel,  Theodore  Fliedner,  born  January  21,  1800. 
As  a  youth  of  twenty-two,  he  became  pastor  of  a  small  Evan- 
gelical church  in  Kaiserswerth,  in  the  very  center  of  a  Roman 
Catholic  district.  The  little  flock  was  in  dire  distress.  Even 
the  Church  authorities  had  given  it  up  and  declared  that  the 
congregation  could  not  be  sustained  much  longer.  In  fact, 
the  small  chapel  was  threatened  w^ith  a  sheriff's  sale.  But  the 
faithful  young  pastor,  who  had  but  just  arrived  on  this  field 
of  labor,  could  not  bear  to  witness  the  death  of  his  congrega- 
tion. In  the  year  1823  he  started  on  a  collecting  tour  to 
Holland  and  England,  and  by  God's  grace  the  financial  object 
of  his  mission  succeeded  perfectly — thanks  to  the  love  of 
those  of  the  same  household  of  faith,  and  to  his  great  gift  of 
reaching  men's  purses  by  touching  their  hearts. 

This  proved  to  be,  however,  only  the  less  important  re- 
sult of  this  journey.  It  served  to  strengthen  the  young  man's 
faith  by  bringing  him  into  contact  with  numerous  upright  and 
pious  Christians  and  fired  his  ambition  to  enter  personally 
into  the  work  of  Christian  philanthropy,  of  wdiich  he  had  seen 
many  evidences  abroad.  This  resolution  he  began  to  carry 
out  immediately  by  devoting  himself  with  much  zeal  to  the 
work  among  criminals.  Twice  every  month  he  would  journey 
to  Diisseldorf  and  visit  the  prison  there,  preaching  to  and 
praying  with  the  inmates.     He  also  became  the  founder  of  a 

(22) 


prison  society  for  the  Rhine  country  and  ^^'estphalia,  which 
still  exists  and  has  been  the  means  of  doing  much  spiritual 
good  among  criminals. 

The  same  year  brought  Fliedner  into  friendh'  intercourse 
with  Pastor  Kloenne,  and  it  was  the  latter's  influence  which 
led  to  his  interest  in  deaconess  work.  The  following  year 
found  the  indefatigable  worker  on  a  new  collecting  tour  in 
Holland.  It  was  on  this  occasion  that  he  met  the  Alennonite 
Deaconesses  mentioned  above.  He  writes  of  this  interesting 
experience  as  follows:  "Beside  this  there  are  in  these  congre- 
gations deaconesses,  elected  by  the  church  council,  and  placed 
under  its  supervision,  whose  work  it  is  to  care  for  the  female 
poor.  They  receive  no  pay,  belong  to  the  best  families  in  the 
congregation,  and  show  much  willingness  to  perform  their 
work,  which  requires  great  personal  sacrifices  of  time,"  etc. 

In  the  meantime  he  devoted  himself  with  renewed  love 
and  care  to  the  work  among  the  prisoners,  and  endeavored  to 
secure  means  of  providing  for  discharged  female  prisoners. 
But  when  no  other  place  of  refuge  could  be  found  for  them, 
he  declared  himself  ready  to  establish  an  asylum  with  this 
object  in  view  at  Kaiserswerth.  In  this  great  undertaking  he 
was  ably  seconded  by  his  devoted  wife  Frederike,  nee  IMiin- 
ster ;  and  before  the  necessary  funds  and  shelter  were  at  hand 
the  first  inmate  made  her  appearance,  1833.  \\'hat  was  to  be 
done?  This  first  ex-prisoner,  who  was  soon  followed  by  an- 
other, found  shelter  in  a  little  house  of  the  pastor's  garden. 
A  matron  was  put  in  charge,  and  Fliedner  and  his  wife  gave 
their  personal  assistance.  Before  long  the  inmates  were  able 
to  move  from  the  little  garden-house,  the  cradle  of  the  institu- 
tions at  Kaiserswerth, -into  an  asylum  specially  built  for  their 
accommodation.  From  this  time  on  one  work  of  mercy  fol- 
lowed another.  In  1835  Fliedner  opened  a  knitting  school 
in  the  garden-house,  and  in  the  spring  of  1836  this  had  de- 
veloped into  a  Little  Children's  School,  or  Christian  Kinder- 
garten. Next  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  sick,  and 
from  the  very  beginning  he  combined  the  proposed  building 
of  a  hospital  with  the  establishment  of  a  Deaconess  Home. 
In  April,  1836,  he  bought  the  laroest  and  finest  house  in  the 
town  for  this  purpose,  fully  trusting  in  the  help  of  his  Lord. 

(23) 


THE      MEMORIAL      WINDOW 


and  in  May  was  founded  the  Rhenish-Westphalian  Deaconess 
Society.  The  faithful  couple  had  many  wonderful  experiences 
of  God's  manifest  help  in  providing-  the  necessary  funds,  and 
on  the  13th  of  October,  1836,  the  hospital  was  opened.  The 
tirst  sister  entered  on  the  20th.  She  was  Gertrude  Reichert, 
daughter  of  a  physician,  and  the  hrst  deaconess  of  modern 
times.  "She  was  the  first  grain  of  mustard  seed  sown,  small 
and  humble,  but  in  faith  and  in  imitation  of  the  church  of  the 
Apostles.     Therefore  it  has  a  great  promise." 

A  comparison  between  the  ancient  and  modern  form  of 
the  Female  Diaconate  may  not  be  out  of  place  here.  Such  a 
comparison  will  show  the  following  differences  between  the 
two :  In  the  ancient  Church  a  deaconess  was  chosen  from  the 
ranks  of  the  congregation  which  she  was  to  serve ;  now  she 
is  sent  from  the  Motherhouse,  having  been  chosen  by  it,  to  the 
congregation  that  desires  her  help.  The  deaconess  of  the 
ancient  Church  lacked  the  special  preparation  for  the  calling 
which  every  modern  deaconess  receives.  While  the  former 
wore  no  special  garb  to  indicate  this  office,  our  deaconesses 
wear  a  regularly  prescribed  garb. 

However,  all  these  changes  are  distinctly  of  an  external 
nature,  and  demanded  by  the  conditions  of  modern  times. 
And  in  spite  of  these  changes,  the  deaconess  of  to-day  has 
as  true  a  claim  to  this  ancient  title  as  the  ministers  of  the 
Gospel  have  a  perfect  right  to  the  claim  of  being  the  follow- 
ers of  the  presbyters  and  bishops  of  the  ancient  Church, 
though  there  may  be  many  dififerences  between  the  office  of 
the  clergy  of  our  time  and  that  of  the  apostolic  era.  The  only 
essential  difl^erence  between  our  modern  deaconesses  and 
those  of  the  ancient  Church  is  this,  that  the  latter  formed  an 
integral  part  of  the  organism  of  the  Church,  whilst  in  our  time, 
for  the  present  at  least,  such  is  not  always  the  case  in  America 
and  rarely  so  in  Europe ;  it  seems  more  expedient  to  o-ather 
the  deaconesses  in  associations  independent  of  the  official  con- 
trol of  the  Church  authorities. 

It  would  lead  us  too  far  to  folloAv  in  detail  the  history  of 
the  origin  and  growth  of  the  different  IMotherhouses.  We 
close  this  historical  review  with  a  few  statistical  figures  to 
show  how  wonderfully  God  has  blessed  the  work  of  the   Fe- 

(25) 


male  Diaconate.  If  ever  the  Scriptural  ])r()inise  has  been 
fulfilled:  "A  little  one  shall  become  a  thousand"  (Isaiah  60: 
22),  it  has  been  in  this  case.  Out  of  a  small,  humble  begin- 
ning-, despised  by  the  v.orld,  ridiculed  by  the  Church  of  Rome 
in  the  sure  expectation  of  an  early  failure,  by  the  grace  of 
God  a  great  work  has  been  developed,  branching  out  in  every 
direction. 

In  1864,  when  Fliedner  died,  there  were,  in  addition  to 
Kaiserswerth,  not  less  than  31  Deaconesses  Motherhouses, 
with  1,597  Sisters  in  406  stations,  with  a  total  income  of  $200,- 
000.  Of  these  425  Sisters,  m  Stations  and  about  $41,000 
belonged  to  Kaiserswerth. 

Thirty  years  later,  in  1894,  there  were  68  Motherhouses, 
with  10,412  Sisters,  in  3,461  stations,  w^ith  about  $2,200,000 
income;  and  in  1913,  seventy-seven  years  after  the  work  began, 
there  were  87  Motherhouses,  with  21,965  Sisters,  in  7,923 
fields  of  labor,  and  an  income  of  $5,850,000. 

In  1913  the  following  houses  had  the  largest  number  of 
Sisters:  Kaiserswerth,  1,435;  Bielefeld,  1,330;  Stuttgart,  980; 
Konigsberg,  927  ;  Neuendettelsau,  841  ;  Dresden,  777  ;  Christi- 
ana, 539  ;  Stockholm,  378;   Copenhagen,  322. 

These  numbers  tell  their  own  tale,  \\4ioever  is  able  to 
appreciate  what  they  mean — what  healing  and  alleviation  of 
distress  in  soul  and  body,  what  faithful  labor  in  the  name  and 
for  the  glory  of  our  Saviour,  wdiat  divine  blessings  both  on  the 
Sisters  and  on  those  to  whom  they  ministeied,  wil!  acknowl- 
edge:  "This  is  the  Lord's  doing;  it  is  marvelous  in  our  eyes." 
But  at  the  same  time  it  will  be  impossible  for  him  to  pass  ^"his 
work  wdthout  sympathetic  interest,  which  will  soon  prompt  a 
prayer  for  God's  further  blessing  and  a  word  of  encourage- 
ment to  those  who  are  inclined  to  enter. 

For  the  benefit  of  those  who  desire  further  information 
on  this  subject  v,e  recommend  the  following  books,  which  can 
be  ordered  through  our  house  : 

(26) 


ScHAEFER  :   Die  weibliche  Diakonie.     Three  volumes 

F.  Meyer  :  Von  den  Diakonissen  und  ihrem  Beriif. 

E.  Wackek  :  Der  Diakonissenberuf. 

E.  Wacker:  Diakonissenspiegel. 

Schaefer:  Im  Dienst  der  Liebe. 

ScHAEFER :  Diakonissen-Katechismus. 

Fr. Meyer:  Deaconesses  and  their  Calling.     Translated  by  Emma  A.  End- 

lich.     Milwaukee,   Wis. :    Geo.    Brunder. 
E. Wacker:  The  Deaconess  Calling,  its  Past  and  its  Present.     Translated 

by  Emma  A.  Endlich.     Appendix  by  A.   Spaeth,  D.   D.,  Mary  J. 

Drexel  Home,   Philadelphia.     Single  copies,  $0.50 ;  by  the  dozen, 

$0.40;  by  the  hundred,  $0.30. 
Julie  Mergner:    Der  Diakonissenberuf.     75  cents. 
Julie   Mergner:    The     Deaconess    and    Her    Work.  Translated    fioni 

the  German  by  Mrs.  Adolph  Spaeth.     Illustrated,  75  cents. 
Proceedings   and    Papers    of   Ten    Conferences   of    Ev.    Luth.    Deaconess 

Motherhouses  in  the  United  States.     1896-1913. 
The  Deaconess  and  Inner  Mission  Work.     Bulletin   No.  2,  published 

by  Inner  Mission  Society.     Philadelphia.     Mary  J.  Drexel  Home. 
J.  S.  Buettner:  Gottes  Befehl  im  Diakonissenberuf. 
C.  GoldER:  History   of   the   Deaconess   Movement.     German    and    English 

editions.     Cincinnati,  O.     Jennings  &  Pye.     (Written  from  Metho- 
dist   viewpoint,   but   generally    fair.) 
J.  F.  Ohl:  The  Inner  Mission.     Illustrated,   ,f  i.oo. 


(27) 


PART  SECOND. 


I|iat0rg  of  nur  mntI|^rI)nuBr. 

A.— THE  FIRST  DEACONESSES  IN  AMERICA. 

In  the  year  1849  the  tirst  Kaisersvverth  Deaconesses  ar- 
rived in  the  United  States.  They  labored  in  the  service  of  in- 
stitutions of  mercy,  established  by  a  Lutheran  clergyman,  the 
late  Dr.  ^^'.  A.  Passavant,  who  died  June  3,  1894.  (See  "Life 
and  Letters  of  W.  A.  Passavant,  D.D."  by  Prof.  G.  H.Gerberding, 
D.D.  )  His  name  will  always  be  mentioned  in  connection  with  the 
Deaconess  cause  in  this  country  as  that  of  a  zealous  and  faith- 
ful laborer  in  the  Lord's  vineyard,  who  was  the  first  to  recog- 
nize the  value  of  the  ministry  of  the  Sisters,  and  to  labor  vig- 
orously for  the  introduction  of  this  work  from  the  fatherland 
into  this  country. 

While  attending  the  first  convention  of  the  Evangelical 
Alliance  in  London,  1846,  he  was  encouraged  and  inspired  to 
undertake  the  establishment  of  institutions  of  mercy.  And 
as  he  journeyed  on  to  Kaiserswerth  he  gained  an  insight  into 
the  work  of  the  Deaconesses.  He  at  once  asked  Fliedner  for 
a  number  of  Sisters  for  hospital  service  in  America,  and  in 
June,  1849,  Fliedner  himself  brought  four  of  his  Deaconesses 
into  this  country  to  the  city  of  Pittsburg,  where  they  took 
charge  of  the  Infirmary  and  Deaconess  Institution,  established 
by  the  Rev.  W.  A.  Passavant.  On  July  17,  1849,  the  hospital 
was  dedicated  in  the  presence  of  Fliedner,  to  whom  the  Fe- 
male Diaconate  owes  its  reorganization  in  this  century.  In 
the  month  of  May,  1850,  the  first  American  probationer,  Louise 
Marthens,  was  consecrated  as  a  Deaconess,  and  in  1857  an 
additional  Sister  was  sent  from  Kaiserswerth.  F)Ut  owing  to 
a  lack  of  proper  training  and  pastoral  care  the  work  made  no 
further  progress. 

Dr.  Passavant,  who  was  constantly  engaged  in  founding 
new  institutions,  could  not  possibly  find  the  time  for  the  quiet 
work   of   building   up    the    Sisterhood.     And    vet    the    proper 

(29) 


development  of  the  Deaconess  cause,  with  the  necessary  tech- 
nical and  religious  training  of  the  Sisters,  requires  the  entire 
time,  thought,  and  strength  of  a  man.  In  this  limitation  to  the 
one  cause  lay  Fliedner's  strength  and,  to  a  great  measure,  the 
secret  of  his  success.  Passavant  was  so  overwhelmed  with 
the  largest  and  most  vital  problems  of  the  Church  in  his  day, 
and  devoted  himself  so  unselfishly  and,  in  a  large  measure, 
successfully  to  their  solution,  that  his  early  failures  in  the 
deaconess  work  detract  little  from  his  greatness.  Since  1893, 
however,  his  hospital  in  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  founded  by  him  in 
1864,  had  a  Deaconess  Motherhouse  connected  with  it,  which 
has  at  this  time  42  Sisters.  The  Rev.  J.  F.  Ohl  was  the  first 
Rector,  remaining  until  1898.  Since  1902  the  Rev.  Herman  L. 
Fritschel  is  in  charge. 

Before  proceeding  to  our  own  ^Motherhouse,  we  deem  it 
proper  to  mention  briefly  the  other  Lutheran  Deaconess  In- 
stitutions, a  summary  review  of  whose  history  will  be  found 
in  the  published  proceedings  of  the  Seventh  Conference  of 
the  Lutheran  ]\Iotherhouses  in  the  L'nited  States,  held  in 
Philadelphia  in  April,  1908. 

1.  The  Motherhouse  at  Baltimore,  founded  by  the  Gen- 
eral Synod  in  1895,  the  Rev.  Charles  E.  Hay,  D.  D.,  pastor, 
report! no:  41  Sisters. 

2.  The  Swedish  Motherhouse  at  Omaha,  Xeb.,  founded  by 
the  Rev.  E.  A.  Fogelstrom  in  1890,  and  now  in  charge  of  the 
Rev.  P.  M.  Lindberg;45  Sisters. 

3.  The  Swedish  Motherhouse  at  St.  Paul,  ]\Iinn.,  founded 
1902  and  connected  with  the  Swedish  Hospital  of  the  ^linne- 
sota  Conference  of  the  Augustana  Synod.  The  pastor.  Rev. 
C.  A.  Hultkrans,  reports  25  Sisters. 

4.-6  The  Norwegians  have  three  Motherhouses,  the  oldest 
in  Brooklyn  (founded  I885,  though  the  first  deaconess  came 
there  from  Norway  in  I8S3)  with  19  Sisters,  since  1909  in  charge 
of  Rev.  A.  O.  Fonkalsrud  ;  another  in  Minneapolis  (1889)  has 
39  Sisters  ;  rector  since  1912  the  Rev.  M.  Rufsvold  ;  and  the 
youngest  and  largest  in  Chicago  (l897)  with  61  Sisters  under 
Rev.  A.  Oefstedal.  In  the  past  few  years  Minneapolis  and 
Chicago  have  experienced  the  most  rapid  growth  of  all  our 
Motherhouses. 

{30) 


7.  Since  1905  there  is  a  Danish  Deaconess  Institution 
founded  by  the  Rev.  J.  Aladsen  in  Brush,  Col.,  furnishing-  the 
Sisters  in  charge  of  the  Sanatorium  for  puhnonary  tubercu- 
losis, founded  also  by  him  in  1903.  He  is  doing  remarkable 
work  with   his  three  Sisters. 

8.-9.  Summing  up  by  including  ^Milwaukee  and  our  own 
Motherhouse,  we  find  that  according  to  the  statistics  of  April, 
191,'',  there  are  9  Lutheran  Deaconess  Alotherhouses.  with  358 
Sisters,  in  78  different  fields  of  labor — i.  e..  in  17  parishes,  in 
14  hospitals,  in  12  Homes  for  the  Aged,  in  ^  Orphans'  Homes 
and  the  rest  in  fourteen  different  kinds  of  work,  including 
vSisters  in  the  foreign  field. 

B.— OUR  DEACONESSES   IN   THE   GERMAN 
HOSPITAL. 

The  German  Hospital  in  Philadelphia  was  founded  and 
chartered  in  1860.  In  the  following  year  it  acquired  its  own 
building  and  property  at  Twentieth  and  Norris  Streets.  But 
during-  the  Civil  War  the  United  States  Government  took  pos- 
session of  it  and  used  it  as  a  military  hospital.  Consequently, 
the  first  patients  were  received  into  the  German  Hospital, 
properly  speaking,  only  towards  the  close  of  the  year  1866.  A 
new  era  of  prosperity  and  success  was  inaugurated  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  hospital  in  1869,  when  IMr.  John  D.  Lankenau  w^as 
elected  president.  In  1872  the  hospital  was  transferred  to  its 
present  location  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Girard  and  Corin- 
thian Avenues.  Extensive  changes  were  made  in  the  building 
during  1874  and  1875.  Ten  years  later,  "in  memory  of  his 
wife,  son  and  daughter,"  President  Lankenau  added  a  large 
wing  to  the  old  buflding.  \\hich.  at  the  same  time,  received  a 
fourth  story.  He  also  built  a  new  operating  room,  fitted  up 
with  all  modern  improvements,  and  a  laundry,  stable,  mortu- 
ary, and  boiler  house,  not  to  speak  of  many  important  improve- 
ments in  the  interior  of  the  buildings. 

And  }  et.  perhaps,  of  even  greater  importance  were  the 
measures  carried  through  by  the  venerable  president,  as- 
sisted by  faithful  and  judicious  counselors  and  co-workers,  by 

(31) 


which  the  inner  administration  of  the  hospital  was  reorgan- 
ized and  the  introduction  of  Deaconesses  effected.  In  testi- 
mony of  this  the  words  of  the  president  may  be  quoted,  when 
at  the  dedication  of  our  Alotherhouse,  he  said:  "By  the  en- 
trance of  the  Sisters  a  more  healthy  system  of  management 
was  introduced  into  the  hospital  and  a  complete  change  of 
the  old  system  of  nursing  was  inaugurated." 

In  the  fall  of  1882  the  way  was  opened  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  Deaconesses  into  the  German  Hospital  by  a  change  in 
the  charter,  by  which  the  co-operation  of  the  Church  was 
frankly  and  openly  invited  by  the  Hospital  Board.  Thus  an 
opportunity  was  afforded  for  such  changes  in  the  internal  ad- 
ministration of  the  hospital  and  its  methods  of  nursing  as 
would  make  it  a  possibility  worthy  of  consideration  to  call 
Deaconesses  from  Germany. 

The  President,  Mr.  John  D.  Lankenau,  and  with  him 
Consul  Chas.  H.  ]\Ieyer,  had  already  made  several  attempts  to 
induce  Kaiserswerth  or  some  other  large  Motherhouse  in  (jcr- 
many  to  give  up  some  Sisters  to  our  hospital.  Consul  Rasch- 
dau,  of  the  German  General  Consulate  in  New  York,  had  also 
taken  a  very  special  and  active  interest  in  our  affairs,  and  in 
1883  had  made  various  attempts  to  secure  Sisters  for  us.  But 
on  all  sides  our  applications  were  refused.  The  Sisters  were 
too  urgently  needed  at  home,  and  could  not  be  spared  for 
America. 

In  the  spring  of  1883,  during  a  business  trip  to  Germany, 
Consul  Chas.  H.  Meyer  undertook  once  more  to  secure  Dea- 
conesses for  us.  He  visited  Kaiserswerth,  where  Pastor  Dis- 
selhoff,  the  son-in-law.  and  Rev.  Geo.  Fliedner.  the  son  of  the 
late  Inspector  Fliedner,  carried  on  the  blessed  work  of  their 
father  with  so  much  success.  But  interesting  and  instructive  as 
this  visit  was,  its  main  object  was  without  result,  and,  in  fact, 
it  almost  irresistibly  forced  upon  us  the  disheartening  convic- 
tion that  all  endeavors  would  be  in  vain.  However,  Consul 
Meyer  did  not  give  up  hope,  but  continued  his  efforts  unremit- 
tingly. 

tn- Hamburg,  not  long  after  this,  he  learned  through  the 
Rev.  C.  Ninck,  a  warm  friend  of  the  Deaconess  cause,  that 
in    the   hospital   at   Iserlohn   there   was   a   small   independent 

(33) 


community  of  Sisters,  under  the  direction  of  a  Superior,  ^larie 
Krueger,  who  had  been  trained  in  Kaiserswerth,  and  that 
possibly  this  little  band  of  Deaconesses  might  be  in  a  position 
to  accede  to  our  proposal.  A  correspondence  was  opened  with 
the  Sister  Superior,  which  resulted  toward  the  end  of  1883  in 
an  agreement  that  she  with  six  Sisters  would  come  over  to 
Philadelphia  in  the  spring  of  1884. 

It  was  not  easy  for  the  Sisters  to  bid  farewell  to  their  field 
of  labor  in  Iserlohn  and  to  their  old  home.  Repeated  efforts 
were  made  by  the  Towai  Council  and  citizens  of  Iserlohn  to 
shake  their  resolution.  But  the  Sisters  remained  true  to  their 
word,  and  departed  with  the  thanks  of  the  town  "for  the  ex- 
cellent and  self-sacrificing  manner  in  which  they  had  filled 
their  office."  On  the  7th  of  June,  1884,  the  little  company 
embarked  on  the  steamer  "Pennland,"  in  Antwerp,  and  after 
a  safe  voyage  reached  the  harbor  of  New  York  on  the  19th 
of  June,  landing  at  Jersey  City.  They  w^ere  there  received 
by  the  President  of  the  German  Hospital,  ]\Ir.  J.  D.  Lankenau, 
and  conducted  to  their  new  home  in  Philadelphia. 

The  names  of  the  Sisters  who  came  as  pioneers  in  the 
Deaconess  work  in  Philadelphia  deserve  to  be  recorded  here : 

Sister  Alarie  Krueger,  from  Ehrenbreitstein  on  the 'Rhine.*^*^ 

Sister  Frederike  AVurzler,  from  Deutschenthal,  near  Halle.*^ 

Sister  AA^ilhelmine  Dittmann,  from  Neuwied. 

Sister  Alarianne  Kraetzer,  from   Harzgerode,   Harz  Alts. 

Sister  Alagadelena  von  Bracht.  from  St.  Vieth,  Eifel  Mts. 

Sister  Alma  Kohmann,  from  Eibau,  Saxony./^ 

Sister  Pauline  Loeschmann,  from  Writzen,^Iark  Bran- 
denburg. 

The  last  named  left  the  Sisterhood  soon  after  her  arrival, 
and  Sister  Frederike  Wurzler,  whose  services  were  invalu- 
able to  us  owing  to  her  rich  experience,  especially  in  surgical 
nursing,  was  obliged  to  return  to  Germany  utterly  broken 
down  in  health,  and  died  there  after  a  protracted  illness.  We 
also  lost  the  first  Superior  Sister  or  "Oberin"  and  Sister  Alma 
by  death.  The  remaining  three  Iserlohn  Sisters  still  belong 
to  our  house  and  serve  it  most  faithfully.  Sister  AA^ilhelmine 
Dittmann  even  as  "Oberin"  since  Easter,  1909.  Thev  cele- 
brated the  twenty-fifth  anniversarv  of  their  Deaconess  activity 

(34)  ' 


on  April  21,  1897,  and  of  their  arrival  in  this  country  on  June 
19,  1909. 

The  beginning-  of  the  work  in  our  Hospital  was  in  many 
respects  very  difficult  for  the  Sisters.  The  new  south  wing 
was  not  yet  completed ;  the  persons  who  until  this  time  had 
charge  of  the  house  were,  at  least  for  awhile,  still  on  the  spot ; 
and  the  w^ay  was  yet  to  be  gradually  broken  for  a  perfect 
understanding  of  the  peculiar  character  of  Protestant  Deacon- 
ess work,  not  only  among  the  physicians,  but  even  in  the 
Board  of  Trustees.  The  work  made  an  important  advance 
through  the  appointment  of  a  standing  Deaconess  Committee, 
which  was  named  by  the  President  of  the  Board  in  February, 
1885,  for  the  purpose  of  formally  organizing  the  Deaconess 
work  in  this  country,  winning  new  Sisters,  securing  proba- 
tioners, and  providing  for  their  training.  This  committee  held 
its  regular  sessions  every  month,  and  made  all  the  arrange- 
ments necessary  in  the  interest  of  the  Deaconess  cause.  The 
members  of  the  Deaconess  Committee  were  the  following 
gentlemen :  J.  D.  Lankenau,  President  and  Treasurer ;  Chas. 
H.  Meyer.  Secretary ;  Rev.  W.  J.  Mann,  D.  D. ;  Rev.  A.  Spaeth, 
D.  D. ;  Rev.  F.  Wischan  ;  J.  C.  File,  President  of  the  German 
Society ;  J.  H.  Tilge ;  G.  A.  Schwarz ;  and  Sister  Marie  Krue- 
ger,  the  Superior. 

A  further  advantage  was  gained  for  the  Deaconess  cause 
by  a  change  in  the  mode  of  appointing  resident  physicians, 
this  position  having  generally  been  occupied  by  three  young 
doctors,  just  graduated.  As  such  a  plan  was  incompatible 
with  the  principles  of  the  Deaconess  work,  it  was  so  modified 
that  one  resident  physician  of  riper  experience  was  appointed 
as  Medical  Superintendent.  From  T»ly.  1885,  this  place  was 
satisfactorily  filled  by -Dr.  Geo.  A.  Bodamer,  until  he  was 
succeeded  in  1889  by  Dr.  Carl  Frese.  He  was  followed  in 
1902  by  Dr.  Henry  F.  Page,  wdio  is  still  in  charge. 

C— PRELIMINARY  HISTORY  OF  OUR  MOTHER- 
HOUSE. 

The  most  important  step  in  the  further  development  of 
the  Deaconess  work,  however,  was  the  determination  of  the 

(35) 


President,  Mr.  J.  D.  Lankenau,  to  erect  the  necessary  build- 
ings for  a  Deaconess  Motherhouse  in  connection  with  the 
contemplated  Mary  J.  Drexel  Home.  The  idea  of  founding 
an  asylum  for  aged  and  infirm  Germans,  culminating  in  the 
Mary  J.  Drexel  Home,  had  been  conceived  by  Mr.  Lankenau 
several  years  before  any  one  thought  of  the  Deaconesses. 
For  this  purpose  he  had  bought  all  the  lots  adjacent  to  the 
German  Hospital,  and  the  amended  charter  of  1882  contained 
a  paragraph  giving  the  management  of  this  institution  eventu- 
ally into  the  hands  of  the  Hospital  Board. 

The  introduction  of  Deaconesses  suggested  to  our  Presi- 
dent the  establishment  of  a  real  Deaconess  Institution  in 
connection  with  the  proposed  Mary  J.  Drexel  Home.  There 
could  be  no  doubt  that  if  the  work  of  Deaconesses  was  to  take 
firm  foothold  among  us,  and  become  permanently  established, 
steps  should  be  taken  as  soon  as  possible  toward  founding  a 
separate  Motherhouse,  where  probationers  could  be  received 
and  trained,  and  where  disabled  and  aged  Sisters  could  have 
a  home  in  the  evening  of  life.  The  Deaconess  Institution,  as 
such,  would  have  to  be  established  and  directed  in  a  churchly 
spirit,  if  any  growth  were  to  be  expected  for  it.  And  as  the 
Sisters  from  the  beginning  had  found  their  spiritual  home  in 
the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of  St.  Johannis  and  their 
spiritual  guide  in  its  pastor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  A.  Spaeth ;  as,  more- 
over, since  the  amendment  of  the  charter  in  1882,  three  pas- 
tors from  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Ministerium  of  Pennsyl- 
vania were  to  be  in  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Hospital, 
there  was  no  question  that  the  Motherhouse  which  was  to  be 
founded,  must  stand  in  organic  union  with  the  Lutheran 
Church.  But  there  was  still  the  possibility  that  the  Mary  J. 
Drexel  Home  might  have  its  own  administration,  different 
from  that  of  the  Deaconess  Institution.  The  founder  of  both 
institutions,  however,  after  mature  consideration,  decided  that 
the  Mary  J.  Drexel  Home  and  Motherhouse  of  Deaconesses 
should  not  only  be  combined  architecturally  in  one  magnificent 
building-,  but  should  also  be  placed  under  one  management. 
For  these  a  special  Board  of  Directors,  as  an  independent  cor- 
poration, was  to  be  created,  in  which  the  Board  of  Trustees 
of  the  German  Hospital  was  to  be  represented  by  three  mem- 

(37) 


bers.  The  carrying  out  of  this  measure  required  another 
change  in  the  charter  of  the  German  Hospital.  This  was  pro- 
posed in  the  session  of  the  Deaconess  Committee  of  September 
26,  1885,  by  Consul  Chas.  H.  Meyer,  and  was  adopted  for  sub- 
mission to  the  Board  of  Trustees.  At  the  same  time  j\Ir.  J. 
D.  Lankenau  announced  that  he  was  ready  to  begin  building 
the  new  institution  as  soon  as  the  Corporation  of  the  German 
Hospital  agreed  upon  the  amendment.  During  the  same  ses- 
sion the  name  of  the  new  institution  was  decided  upon :  "The 
Mar}'  J.  Drexel  Home  and  Philadelphia  Motherhouse  of  Dea- 
conesses." 

xA.fter  the  preliminary  approval  of  the  proposed  amend- 
ment had  been  passed  by  the  Corporation  in  the  meeting  of 
January,  1886,  the  first  steps  were  at  once  taken  for  beginning 
the  building.  xA-t  the  session  of  the  Deaconess  Committee  on 
March  27,  1886,  Air.  Lankenau  announced  his  intention  to  en- 
trust the  design  and  execution  of  the  building  to  the  architect, 
Mr.  G.  Knoche.  He  was  then  unanimously  chosen  by  the 
committee  as  architect  of  the  proposed  building,  and  i\Ir.  Lank- 
enau concluded  the  necessary  contracts  with  him. 

On  the  20th  of  September,  1886,  ground  was  broken,  and 
on  November  11th  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  building  was 
laid  by  Mr.  John  D.  Lankenau  with  appropriate  ceremonies. 
A  full  description  of  this  solemn  act  was  afterward  published 
in  German  and  English. 

While  the  external  building  was  making  rapid  progress, 
important  steps  were  also  taken  for  the  internal  development 
of  the  Deaconess  work,  though  the  time  following  immediately 
after  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  was  in  many  respects  full 
of  severe  trials  and  anxieties.  On  the  30th  of  November,  1887, 
the  Sister  Superior.  Marie  Krueger,  died,  and  until  May,  1888, 
Sister  Wilhelmine  Dittmann  acted  pro  tempore  as  Sister  Su- 
perior. At  the  same  time  the  internal  affairs  of  the  Sister- 
hood were  regulated  by  weekly  conferences  of  the  older  Sis- 
ters held  under  the  direction  of  their  pastor,  Dr.  A.  Spaeth. 
Repeated  eft"orts  to  secure  experienced  Sisters  from  the  other 
houses  in  Germany  proved  unsuccessful.  The  committee  hav- 
ing charge  of  this  work  became  more  and  more  convinced 
that  the  clear  duty  before  us  was  to  train  our  future  Sisters 

(38) 


ourselves  from  the  probationers  who  would  enter  our  Mother- 
house.  For  this  purpose  it  seemed  to  be  highly  important  and 
necessary  to  secure  at  least  one  thoroughly  trained  Sister  from 
a  German  Motherhouse,  who,  as  Training  Sister  (Probe- 
meisterinj  would  be  fully  competent  to  train  our  probationers. 
U'ith  a  view^  to  this  end  Dr.  A.  Spaeth,  during  the  summer 
of  1886,  visited  the  most  prominent  German  Motherhouses, 
Kaiserswerth,  Bielefeld,  Hannover,  Altona,  Stuttgart  and 
Neuendettelsau.  At  the  latter  place  an  understanding  was 
reached  with  the  Rector,  Rev.  F.  iMeyer,  to  the  effect  that  one 
of  the  ablest  and  most  experienced  Sisters  from  that  excellent 
institution,  founded  by  Loehe  in  1854,  should  be  sent  over  to 
stay  with  us  a  number  of  years  and  take  charge  of  the  train- 
ing of  our  probationers.  But  in  the  end  even  this  agreement 
came  to  naught,  as  the  state  of  health  of  the  Sister  selected 
for  this  work  did  not  permit  her  coming  to  this  country.  But 
after  all  we  owe  much  to  the  Neuendettelsau  Alotherhouse,  in- 
asmuch as  several  Sisters  at  present  charged  with  important 
work,  received  their  training  there.  Aleanwhile  the  need  be- 
came more  and  more  tu'gent.  It  was  absolutely  necessary 
to  secure  an  able  and  competent  Housemother  or  Sister  Su- 
perior for  our  orphaned  band  of  Sisters,  and,  if  possible,  at  the 
same  time,  a  suitable  minister  as  Housefather  or  Rector  who 
could  devote  his  whole  time  and  strength  to  the  training 
of  the  Sisters  and  to  the  systematic  development  of  the  Dea- 
coness cause.  For  the  former  position,  through  the  efforts  of 
President  John  D.  Lankenau  and  Consul  Chas.  H.  Meyer, 
\\'anda  von  Oertzen,  a  woman  of  great  energy,  executive 
ability,  and  wide  experience  in  nursing,  was  secured.  She  ar- 
rived on  May  26,  1888,  and  w^as  solemnly  inducted  into  her 
office  on  the  evening  'of  June  18,  1888.  For  the  position  of 
Pastor  and  Rector  of  the  Motherhouse  of  Deaconesses,  at  the 
first  meeting  of  the  newly  incorporated  Board  of  Trustees,  on 
the  18th  of  February,  1888,  Dr.  A.  Spaeth  proposed  the  Rev. 
Augustus  Cordes,  wdio,  as  the  assistant  of  the  late  Pastor 
Ninck  in  Hamburg,  had  known  the  work  of  the  Deaconesses 
from  practical  experience.  The  correspondence  opened  with 
him  by  resolution  of  the  Board,  had  the  gratifying  result  that 
on  the  7th  of  August,  1888,  we  had  the  pleasure  of  welcoming 

(39) 


him  at  our  House,  where  he  cheerfully  and  vigorously  entered 
upon  the  duties  of  his  important  office.  Thus,  almost  simul- 
taneously, the  two  most  important  practical  problems  for  the 
continuation  and  development  of  the  work  were  solved  in  a 
most  satisfactory  manner.  We  had  secured  an  Oberin  (Sister 
Superior)  and  a  Rector  for  our  institution,  both  of  whom  de- 
served our  fullest  confidence,  and  from  whom  the  happiest 
results  could  be  expected  for  the  healthy  and  continued  growth 
of  our  cause. 

In  the  meantime  important  progress  had  also  been  made 
in  the  internal  organization  of  the  work.  The  former  Com- 
mittee on  Deaconesses,  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
the  German  Hospital,  had  given  place  to  the  incorporated 
Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Mary  J.  Drexel  Home  and  Philadel- 
phia Motherhouse  of  Deaconesses.  At  a  meeting  of  the  com- 
mittee on  January  22,  1887,  a  sub-committee  had  been  ap- 
pointed, consisting  of  Messrs.  John  D.  Lankenau,  Chas.  H. 
Meyer,  and  A.  Spaeth,  D.  D.,  to  draft  a  charter  for  the  new 
corporation,  with  the  advice  and  co-operation  of  James  Par- 
sons, Esq.  On  October  20,  1887,  the  charter  was  finally 
adopted,  and  the  following  gentlemen  were  appointed  mem- 
bers of  the  new  corporation :  John  D.  Lankenau,  Rev.  A\"illiam 
J.  Mann,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Adolph  Spaeth,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Frederick 
Wischan,  Rev.  Hugo  Grahn,  Chas.  H.  Meyer,  John  C.  File, 
Gustavus  A.  Schwarz  and  J.  Henry  Tilge.  When  the  charter 
had  been  granted  by  the  court,  the  new  corporation  organized 
at  its  first  meeting  on  February  18,  1888,  by  electing  the  fol- 
lowing officers :  President,  John  D.  Lankenau ;  Vice-President, 
Chas.  H.  Meyer;  ^Secretary,  Rev.  Hugo  Grahn;  Treasurer, 
Chas.  Woerwag;  Attorney,  James  Parsons,  Esq.  In  a  com- 
munication dated  March  7,  1888,  the  President  officially  in- 
formed the  Board  of  the  German  Hospital  of  the  organization 
of  the  new  corporation,  at  the  same  time  expressing  his  sin- 
cere thanks  for  their  kindness  and  willingness  in  conveying 
the  lease  of  the  western  part  of  the  Hospital  ground  to  the 
new  corporation,  and  closing  with  the  hope  that  there  would 
always  exist  the  kindliest  feelings  and  ready  co-operation  be- 
tween the  two  sister  institutions. 

As   the   Deaconess   cause   thus   gradually   developed   and 

(41) 


shaped  itself  in  this  Western  world,  it  also  gained  the  confi- 
dence and  recognition  of  the  older  Motherhouses  in  the  Ger- 
man Fatherland,  which  had,  from  the  beginning,  shown  a  kind 
interest  in  our  history.  The  General  Conference  of  Deaconess 
Motherhoiises  which  meets  once  in  three  years,  at  its  conven- 
tion held  in  September,  1888,  at  Kaiserswerth,  declared  itself 
ready  to  invite  our  Motherhouse  for  the  present  to  take  part 
in  the  conference  as  a  guest,  provided  that  our  rules  and  regu- 
lations should  be  found  in  accordance  with  the  principles  rec- 
ognized b}^  the  General  Conference.  In  1894  our  Motherhouse 
was  admitted  as  a  regular  member  of  that  conference,  and 
since  then  the  Lutheran  Motherhouses  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  in 
Omaha,  Neb.,  and  in  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  have  also  joined  the 
same,  giving  the  Lutheran  Deaconess  work  in  America  the 
stamp  of  approval  by  the  highest  authority  on  Deaconess  work 
and  principles  in  Europe.  These  four  Motherhouses,  together 
with  the  Norwegian  Motherhouses  in  Brooklyn,  in  Minneapo- 
lis and  in  Chicago,  and  the  Swedish  IMotherhouse  in  St.  Paul, 
are,  since  1896,  united  in  an  American  conference  of  Lutheran 
Motherhouses,  which  meets  bi-ennially  and  has  done  much 
towards  uniformity  of  principles  and  methods  of  the  work  in, 
this  country.  The  Danish  Motherhouse  at  Brush,  Col.,  also 
reports  to  this  Conference  and  is  recognized  by  the  same. 

D.— OUR  SISTERS  IN  THEIR  OWN  MOTHERHOUSE. 

The  charter  of  the  corporation  of  the  Motherhouse  having 
been  adopted  in  October,  1887,  and  our  Sisterhood  having 
received  a  new  Oberin  and  their  own  spiritual  adviser  in  the 
person  of  their  Pastor,  everything  was  ready  for  the  formal 
organization  and  opening  of  the  Motherhouse. 

This  event  was  signalized  by  the  dedication  of  the  mag- 
nificent building  on  December  6,  1888.  With  this  date  the 
real  history  of  our  House  begins.  At  3  P.  M.  on  that  mem- 
orable day  the  members  of  the  Board,  the  officiating  clergy- 
men and  the  Deaconesses  moved  in  procession  to  the  Chapel. 
At  the  main  entrance  the  architect,  Mr.  G.  Knoche,  handed  the 
key  to  the  President,  Mr.  J.  D.  Lankenau,  who,  in  an  ad- 
mirable   address,    formally    surrendered    the    building    to    the 

(42) 


Board  of  Trustees  with  the  promise  that  he  would  make  pro- 
vision for  its  maintenance  and  support.  The  Vice-President, 
Consul  Chas.  H.  Meyer,  responded  in  behalf  of  the  Board, 
assuring-  the  generous  donor  of  their  consciousness  of  the 
grave  responsibilities  assumed,  but  also  of  their  grateful  recog- 
nition and  appreciation  of  Mr.  Lankenau's  act,  and  conclud- 
ing with  the  best  wishes  for  the  founder  and  the  institution. 
This  was  followed  by  the  formal  consecration  of  the  house 
and  with  the  liturgical  order  of  the  Vesper  Service,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  W.  J.  Mann  making  the  German  address,  and  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Jos.  A.  Seiss  speaking  in  English.  After  this  the  new 
Rector,  Rev.  A.  Cordes,  was  solemnly  installed  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  A.  Spaeth. 

On  that  memorable  day  the  Sisterhood  consisted  of  eight 
consecrated  Deaconesses  and  twenty  probationers,  five  of 
whom,  being  trained  for  the  Swedish  Motherhouse  in  Omaha, 
did  not  properly  belong  to  our  own  House. 

Meanwhile  the  work  of  our  Sisters  had  been  sought  also 
in  other  places.  In  the  spring  of  1887  parish  work  was  un- 
dertaken in  the  German  Lutheran  St.  Paul's  congregation. 
There,  through  the  influence  of  the  Rev.  F.  Wischan,  a  Dea- 
coness Society  had  been  formed  which  asked  that  a  Sister 
might  be  assigned  to  them. 

The  first  case  of  private  nursing  and  the  first  work  out- 
side of  Philadelphia  was  undertaken  in  January,  1889,  when 
a  Sister  was  sent  to  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  to  take  charge  of  a 
family  stricken  with  typhoid  fever. 

In  April  of  the  same  year  the  first  monthly  Conference  of 
Sisters  was  held. 

Since  1890  the  German  monthly,  "Der  Diakonissen- 
Freund,"  has  been 'published  as  the  organ  of  our  cause,  and 
has  met  with  general  favor  throughout  our  Church  and  our 
country.  Whilst  the  3'ear  1890  had  seen  a  number  of  new 
enterprises  within  the  Motherhouse  and  outside,  the  following 
years  w^ere  devoted  to  quiet  development.  A  great  deal  of 
labor  was  demanded  from  the  Sisters  and  their  leaders.  The 
Rector  found  some  relief  in  the  appointment  of  a  secretary 
and  assistant  in  the  person  of  the  Rev.  A.  Blum  (June  1,  1892). 
On  March  31,   1892,  the  Isolating  House  was  completed  bv 

(43) 


Mr.  Lankenau,  and  handed  over  to  the  Board  of  Trustees. 
It  is  used  for  the  reception  of  such  patients  who,  whilst  under 
treatment  in  the  Children's  Hospital  or  in  the  German  Hos- 
pital, are  found  to  be  afflicted  with  contagious  disease.  It 
has  done  most  valuable  service  to  both  institutions. 

An  invaluable  blessing  was  bestowed  upon  our  Sisterhood 
when  in  1890  our  President  opened  his  cottage  by  the  seashore 
at  Cape  May  Point,  N.  J.,  which  he  most  generously  devoted 
to  the  recreation  of  the  Sisters,  he  himself  being  the  kind  host 
who  invited  the  Sisters  to  his  table  and  offered  a  most  com- 
fortable home  to  those  who  needed  rest  and  the  refreshing 
sea-breeze  and  bath  during  the  summer  heat. 

A  great  loss  was  sustained  by  our  IMotherhouse  when, 
m  July,  1892,  Rector  Cordes  resigned  while  visiting  in  Ger- 
many. ^^'hat  he  was  to  our  House  through  his  assiduous  and 
many-sided  labors  shall  never  be  forgotten  and  deserves  our 
grateful  remembrance.  His  place  was  vacant  from  June,  1892, 
to  July,  1893.  The  Rev.  A.  Blum  acted  as  substitute,  faith- 
fully discharging  the  duties  laid  upon  him.  In  the  month 
of  May,  1893,  the  Oberin  was  afflicted  with  severe  illness,  and 
for  a  time  had  to  withdraw  from  the  management  of  the 
House. 

On  the  Fourth  of  July,  1893,  the  new  pastor.  Rev.  Carl 
Goedel,  arrived,  and  was  solemnly  installed  in  his  ofBce  on  the 
following  Sunday,  July  8th,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  A.  Spaeth.  He 
had  formerly  been  in  the  service  of  the  Rhenish  Church  as 
pastor  in  W^einsheim,  near  Kreuznach.  By  the  grace  of  God  he 
succeeded  in  discharging  the  duties  of  his  office  to  the  full 
satisfaction  of  the  Board. 

The  year  189-!  brought  a  change  in  the  Board,  inasmuch 
as  the  Rev.  F.  Wi^chan  resigned,  and  Rev.  G.  C.  Berkemeier, 
D.  D.,  of  the  Wartburg  Orphans'  Home,  Mount  Vernon, 
N,  Y.,  was  chosen  in  his  place.  This  choice  was  made  possible 
by  a  change  in  our  charter,  obtained  some  time  before,  which 
demands  that  the  clerical  members  of  the  Board  must  belong 
to  the  General  Council  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church 
in  North  America,  being  no  longer  confined,  as  before,  to  the 
Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania.  By  this  action  and  the  elec- 
tion of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Berkemeier,  the  New  York  Ministerium 

(45) 


is  brought  into  closer  contact  with  our  institution.  And  it  is 
fair  and  proper  to  give  a  pul)lic  recognition  to  the  warm  in- 
terest which  we  there  find  for  our  cause,  and  which  is  sho>vn 
by  the  fact  that  quite  a  number  of  Christian  women  have 
come  to  us  from  that  part  of  the  Church.  It  is  an  advantage 
to  the  Church  at'  large  that  the  work  of  the  Female  Diaconate 
within  these  two  oldest  Lutheran  Synods  is  concentrated  in 
one  Motherhouse,  and  that  a  separation  into  different  smaller 
institutions  has  been  avoided. 

On  the  30th  of  T^Iarch,  1894,  the  Rev.  A.  Blum  left  us, 
after  several  years  of  faithful  service,  to  accept  a  call  as  pas- 
tor. The  position  of  Secretary,  which  had  been  filled  by  him, 
was  first  taken  by  one  of  the  Sisters ;  afterwards  by  ]\Iiss 
Nora  R.  Ohl,  who  resigned  to  enter  upon  other  work  in  1908. 
She  has  been  succeeded  by  a  Deaconess. 

On  the  21st  of  July,  1895,  death  removed  Mr.  J.  Henry 
Tilge,  who  had  been  a  member  of  the  Hospital  Board  since 
1882,  and  who,  when  our  work  was  begun,  was  also  elected 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  the  Mary  J.  Drexel  Home. 

Of  great  importance  not  only  for  our  House,  but  also  for 
the  entire  Deaconess  work  in  our  Church  and  in  the  United 
States,  was  the  First  Conference  of  Lutheran  Deaconess 
Houses  in  America,  held  in  our  House,  September  16-18,  1896. 
Vital  questions  w^ere  there  discussed,  involving  the  fundamen- 
tal principles  of  the  Diaconate,  and  a  hearty  agreement  was 
reached  by  the  representatives  of  the  Motherhouses  of  Phila- 
delphia, Milwaukee,  Omaha  and  Baltimore.  Before  the  close 
of  the  sessions  the  Conference  efifected  a  permanent  organiza- 
tion. The  second  meeting  of  the  Conference  was  held  in  Mil- 
waukee, Wis.,  October  20-22,  1897 ;  the  third  in  Omaha,  Neb., 
October  4,  5,  1899;  the  fourth  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  January  5-7, 
1903;  the  fifth  in  Philadelphia.  April  26-28,  1904;  the  sixth  in 
Milwaukee,  October  10,  11,  1905;  and  the  seventh  again  in 
Philadelphia,  April  21,  22,  1908.  The  proceedings  and  papers 
of  these  highly  successful  conventions  are  ptiblished  in  pamph- 
let form  and  can  be  had  on  application. 

Our  beloved  Oberin,  ^^'anda  von  Oertzen,  was,  in  June, 
1897,  obliged  to  intermit  her  labors  in  order  to  go  abroad  and 
seek  relief  from  a  serious  ailment.    It  was,  however,  the  Lord's 

(46) 


plan  to  release  her  entirely  from  His  service  upon  earth.  After 
a  ling-ering-  illness,  she  peacefully  fell  asleep  on  the  14th  of 
November  in  the  Deaconess  ^lotherhouse,  Bethanien,  Berlin. 

What  Wanda  von  Oertzen  was  to  our  two  institutions, 
and  to  each  one  of  the  Sisters  is  known  only  by  our  closest 
friends.  The  thoughtfulness  of  our  President  has  given  last- 
ing expression  to  our  enduring  love  and  respect  by  the  erec- 
tion of  a  memorial  tablet  in  the  stair-hall  of  the  Motherhouse. 
Thus  the  memory  of  the  departed  will  be  perpetuated  to  the 
future  generations  of  our  House,  whilst  those  who  were  asso- 
ciated with  her  will  keep  her  in  faithful  and  grateful  remem- 
brance as  long  as  they  live. 

Before  this  season  of  trial  and  privation  and  anxious  wait- 
ing had  come  to  an  end,  it  pleased  God  to  lay  a  fresh  burden 
upon  us  in  the  sudden  death  of  our  Vice-President,  the  Ger- 
man Consul  in  this  city,  ]\Ir.  Charles  H.  Meyer,  who  was 
taken  away  during  the  night  of  August  13,  14,  1898.  His  name 
will  likewise  continue  to  be  linked  not  only  with  the  history 
of  our  House,  but  also  with  that  of  the  work  of  the  Diaconate 
in  our  land.  From  the  very  beginning  he  was  the  most  faith- 
ful and  indefatigable  co-worker  of  our.  founder,  and  an  in- 
telligent, warm-hearted  friend  of  our  Sisters,  whose  compan- 
ionship he  sought  not  only  in  their  fields  of  labor,  but  also 
during  their  hours  of  leisure  and  recreation,  and  for  whom  he 
made  many  a  vigorous  plea.  Though  a  very  busy  man,  it 
was  his  delight  to  devote  his  comparatively  brief  periods  of 
freedom  to  the  service  of  our  institution.  To  many  he  was  a 
loyal  personal  friend.  As  such  he  will  continue  to  live  in 
our  memories;  and  his  labors  for  our  cause  will,  as  he  himself 
hoped,  be  his  enduring  legacy  to  us,  to  our  Motherhouse,  and 
to  the  German  Hospital. 

On  the  30th  of  January,  1898,  Sister  Emilie  Schwarz  was 
installed  into  the  ofifice  of  Sister  Superior  of  the  Motherhouse. 
In  February,  1901,  she  resigned,  and  our  former  Training  Sis- 
ter, Sister  Magdalene  Steinmann,  was  installed  Sister  Superior 
on  the  afternoon  of  ^^^^itsunday,  1901. 

By  a  unanimous  vote,  the  well-known  and  highly  re- 
spected attorney  and  present  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas,  Hon.  AVilliam  H.  Staake,  a  most  active  lavman  of  our 

(47) 


AUDITORIUM      OF      LANKENAU      SCHOOL 


SITTING      ROOM      FOR     SENIOR     GIRLS 


Church,  was,  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  1898,  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board,  and  at  the  Board's  first  session  in  1899  he 
was  unanimously  chosen  Vice-President  of  the  institution.  At 
the  same  meeting-  Mr.  Hermann  Hessenbruch  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  Board. 

The  event  which  during  the  past  years  has  been  of  great- 
est import  to  us  was  the  death  of  our  President,  founder  and 
maintainer,  Mr.  Johann  Diederich  Lankenau,  on  August  30, 
1901.  Of  the  many  afflictions  that  have  come  to  our  Mother- 
house  in  the  few  years  of  its  existence  this  has  been  the  most 
se\'ere.  The  loss  of  our  kind  and  loving  President,  who  had 
been  a  father  to  all,  was  most  keenly  felt. 

The  death  of  our  founder  has  completed  the  first  period 
in  the  history  of  our  Motherhouse.  A\'e  who  have  been  in- 
trusted ])y  our  late  President  with  the  direction  of  all  the  work, 
must  preserve  his  memory  to  posterity  by  a  faithful  continu- 
ance and  development  of  the  projects  to  which  Mr.  Lankenau 
had  given  his  loving  consideration,  and  which,  through  the 
grace  of  God,  had  been  promoted  by  his  advice  and  large 
munificence. 

On  the  7th  of  January,  1902,  the  Hon.  William  H.  Staake 
was  unanimously  elected  President  and  Mr.  G.  A.  Schwarz 
Vice-President  of  the  Board  of  Directors.  The  vacancy  in  the 
Board  caused  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Lankenau  has  been  filled 
by  the  election  of  Mr.  ^^'illiam  P.  M.  Braun  as  member  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees. 

On  March  9,  1902,  our  first  Treasurer,  Mr.  Charles  A. 
Woerwag,  died.  Mr.  Edmund  R.  Teubner  was  elected  his 
successor,  and  by  his  faithful  support  our  institution  has  a 
sound  system  of  finances.  ^Ir.  \\'oerwag  was  succeeded  in 
the  Board  of  Trustees-  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Laird,  D.  D.,  who 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Board  of  the  German  Hospital. 

The  affairs  of  the  Home  went  along  most  satisfactorily 
until  early  in  1904,  when  Pastor  Goedel  felt  constrained  to 
resign  in  order  to  return  to  the  Fatherland  and  to  make  room 
for  a  man  more  in  sympathv  with  the  language  and  the  spirit 
of  this  country  than  he  found  it  possible  to  be;  but  as  a  suit- 
able successor  could  not  be  secured  at  that  time,  he  most  gen- 
erouslv  decided  to  remain  at  his  post  for  two  more  vears.     His 

(19) 


resignation  was  finally  accepted  by  the  Board  of  Trustees  with 
deep  regret,  and  in  full  appreciation  of  the  many  and  faithful 
services  he  had  rendered  in  the  thirteen  years  of  his  pastorate 
at  the  Drexel  Home.  With  his  family  he  sailed  for  Germany 
on  June  21st,  1906,  and  on  his  arrival  found  an  invitation  to 
become  the  pastor  of  the  independent  Lutheran  congregation 
in  Montreux,  on  Lake  Geneva,  Switzerland,  where  he  is  now 
laboring  with  marked  success.  The  Rev.  E.  F.  Bachmann, 
who  had  served  Concordia  Evangelical  Lutheran  congrega- 
tion in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  since  1892,  and  who  had  declined  a  call 
to  the  Drexel  Home  in  1904,  was  persuaded  to  accept  a  second 
call  and  entered  upon  his  duties  as  pastor  of  the  ^lotherhouse 
on  August  4th,  1906.  On  September  23d  the  first  regular  Eng- 
lish service  was  held  in  the  beautiful  chapel  of  the  Drexel 
Home,  and  since  then  our  Sunday  evening  services  have  been 
English.  English  is  also  used  in  the  classroom,  and,  in  fact, 
so  generally  by  most  of  the  Sisters,  that  candidates  from 
English  Lutheran  congregations  soon  feel  perfectly  at  home. 
They  are  expected,  however,  to  acquire  the  German  langua'^e 
also,  in  order  to  profit  no  less  by  our  German  services  and 
to  enable  them  to  study  the  German  sources  on  the  Diaconate 
and  on  Inner  Missions;  at  the  same  time  the  unsurpassed  de- 
votional literature  of  the  German  Lutheran  Church  is  made 
accessible  to  these  Sisters  and,  finally,  they  are  the  better  fitted 
for  their  work  in  hospitals  and  parishes.  By  the  grace  of 
God  the  vexing  troubles  of  the  language  problem  are  unknown 
in  the  Drexel  Home.  The  summer  of  1907  the  pastor  spent 
abroad  to  become  accpiainted  with  some  of  the  leading  men 
and  Motherhouses  of  the  Diaconate  in  German}-  and  to  attend 
the  Triennial  Convention  of  the  General  Conference  of  Dea- 
coness Motherhouses  held  at  Kaiserswert.  September  17th- 
19th.  The  beneficial  influence  of  this  sojourn  abroad  is  grate- 
fully acknowledged  by  the  pastor  and  has  made  itself  felt  in 
the  work  of  the  Motherhouse. 

Perhaps  the  most  inijiortant  event  of  late  }ears  for  the 
future  development  of  our  work  was  the  purchase  in  March, 
1908,  of  the  large  property  adjacent  to  the  grounds  of  the 
Motherhouse,  and  extending  westward  between  South  College 
(Girard)    Avenue   and    Poplar   Street   in   triangular  form,   the 

(50) 


base  on  Twenty-second  Street  and  the  apex  on  Twenty- 
fourth  Street.  The  happy  consummation  of  this  purchase,  by 
which  the  hopes  of  a  score  of  years  were  reaHzed,  is  due  pri- 
marily to  the  indefatigaljle  efforts  of  our  honored  President, 
the  Hon.  W.  li.  Staake. 

The  month  following-  the  acquisition  of  the  above-men- 
tioned property  brought  both  joy  and  deep  sorrow.  We  had 
the  privilege  of  welcoming  in  our  midst  the  Seventh  Confer- 
ence of  Lutheran  Alotherhouses  in  this  country,  convening 
here  April  21st-22d.  A\'hile  still  rejoicing  over  the  success 
of  this  gathering  of  fellow-workers  in  the  Diaconate,  on  April 
23d  a  double  blow  fell  upon  us,  that  at  first  quite  staggered  us : 
the  total  loss  of  the  A'illa  Lankenau  by  fire  and  the  resignation 
of  our  Sister  Superior,  Magdalene  Steinmann.  A\'e  were  hum- 
bled and  out  of  the  depths  cried  unto  the  Lord  ;  He  heard  us, 
He  helped  us  and  to-day  we  gratefully  acknowledge,  that  He 
doeth  all  things  well.  Sister  ^Magdalene  Steinmann  had  faith- 
fully served  the  Motherhouse  as  a  deaconess  since  1889  and 
as  Sister  Superior  since  1901,  but  returned  to  Germany  on 
wSeptember  2d,  1908,  in  accordance  with  her  original  intention 
to  remain  in  America  for  only  a  limited  number  of  years. 
After  nineteen  years  of  unremitting  labor  she  is  now  enjoying 
well-deserved  rest  and  the  quiet  of  her  private  home  in 
Schwerin,  Germany.  The  Board  of  Trustees  appointed  Sister 
Wilhelmine  Dittmann,  one  of  the  seven  Sisters  who  came 
from  Germany  in  1884,  to  act  temporarily  as  Sister  Superior, 
but  she  proved  herself  so  well  qualified,  that  when  a  perma- 
nent incumbent  of  this  most  important  office  was  to  be  chosen, 
she  was  unanimously  nominated  by  the  Board  and  as  unani- 
mously elected  by  the  Deaconesses  as  Sister  Superior.  She 
was  inducted  into  her  crffice  on  the  afternoon  of  Easter  Sunday, 
April  11th,  1909. 

In  the  meantime  the  rebuilding  of  the  Villa  Lankenau  had 
also  begun,  and  on  June  15th  the  Board  of  Trustees  met  at  the 
almost  completed  new  villa  and  with  appropriate  ceremonies 
inserted  the  corner-stone.  Though  the  costly  furnishings  of 
the  former  villa  can  never  be  replaced  and  their  loss  is  de- 
plored so  sincerely  because  of  the  many  articles  dear  to  the 
memorv  of  Mr.   Lankenau,  vet  the  new  villa  is  in  manv  re- 

'(51) 


spects  superior  to  the  former  and  lacks  none  of  the  comforts 
of  an  elegant  home. 

On  May  7th,  1909,  the  Lord  called  from  our  midst  a  most 
faithful  member  of  our  Board,  the  Air.  Joseph  A.  Bremer,  well 
known  as  an  active  Church-worker  and  as  a  successful  busi- 
ness man.  He  had  rendered  most  valuable  services  to  the 
Home  since  his  election  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  in  Alarch, 
1893,  but  had  been  forced  by  physical  infirmities,  that  pre- 
vented his  regular  participation  in  our  meetings,  to  resign  in 
February,  1909.  With  deep  regret  and  with  sincere  apprecia- 
tion of  his  share  in  guarding  and  developing  the  interests  of 
the  Motherhouse,  Mr.  Bremer's  resignation  was  adopted.  He 
passed  away  three  months  later,  on  the  very  day  that  his  suc- 
cessor, Mr.  Frederick  C.  Hassold,  was  elected.  In  Mr.  Has- 
sold  we  have  gained  a  member  whose  business  ability,  prac- 
tical experience  and  sympathetic  interest  well  qualify  him  to 
assist  in  the  solution  of  the  manifold  problems  awaiting  us. 

The  successful  completion  of  the  first  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury of  our  work  was  marked  by  a  quiet  but  most  enjoyable 
celebration  at  the  Motherhouse  on  the  exact  date  of  arrival  of 
the  Sisters  from  Iserlohn  on  June  19th,  but  for  i^ractical  rea- 
sons the  public  jubilee  was  deferred  until  the  usual  anni- 
versary in  the  fall,  and  September  29th  was  fixed  as  the  date. 

This  day  was  one  of  the  most  glorious  in  the  historv  of  our 
work,  second  only  to  the  day  of  the  dedication  of  our  Alother- 
house,  as  those  declare  who  had  been  present  also  on  that 
occasion.  The  secular  as  Avell  as  the  religious  press  gave 
liberal  space  to  the  reports  of  this  jubilee  and  justified  the 
statement  in  an  editorial  of  "The  Lutheran,"  that  "The  eyes 
of  many  have  been  opened  to  the  diaconate  as  never  before, 
and  to  the  possibilities  of  the  Church,  if  she  will  Init  learn  to 
use  this  arm  of  Christian  service."  The  principal  speaker  of 
the  day  was  the  former  Rector  Cordes,  to  whom  the  Mother- 
house  is  indebted  for  much  that  has  helped  to  place  its  religious 
life  and  work  on  such  a  high  plane.  In  the  morning  he 
preached  a  powerful  sermon  on  thanksgiving,  and  at  the 
service  in  the  afternoon  he  filled  the  hearts  of  his  hearers  with 
enthusiasm  by  his  appeal  for  personal  and  untiring  support  of 
the  diaconate.     All  who  have  heard  him  felt  grateful  to  him  for 

(53) 


having  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  order  to  rejoice  with  us.  The 
Church  was  officially  represented  by  the  President  of  the  Gen- 
eral Council,  the  Rev.  Theodore  E.  Schmauk,  D.  D.,  LL.  D., 
and  by  the  President  of  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania,  Prof. 
Jacob  Fry,  D.  D.,  both  bringing  official  congratulations  and 
stirring  the  large  audience  by  their  testimony  of  the  Church's 
appreciation  of  the  deaconess  work.  The  Hon.  William  H. 
Staake,  President  of  our  Board  of  Trustees,  had  welcomed 
the  many  friends  at  the  opening  of  the  afternoon  exercises, 
and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Spaeth  closed  the  service  with  a  masterful 
summing  up  of  the  principal  sentiments  of  the  occasion, 
leading  up  to  new  inspiration  and  new  consecration.  It  was 
a  solemn  hour.  Letters  and  telegrams  of  congratulation  w^ere 
read  in  the  evening  at  the  social  gathering  in  a  large  tent  on 
the  grounds,  and  physicians,  as  well  as  clergymen,  gladly  bore 
testimony  to  the  efficient  and  self-denying  services  rendered 
by  the'  Sisters  and  of  the  rich  blessing  resting  on  their  labors. 
Especially  honored  on  this  day  were  the  three  survivors  of 
the  original  seven  Sisters,  Sister  Superior  W'ilhelmine  Ditt- 
mann.  Sister  Magdalene  von  Bracht  and  Sister  Marianne 
Kraetzer,  each  still  active  and  in  most  responsible  positions, 
and  all  three  in  the  diaconate  since  1870! 

How  fortunate,  also,  that  we  still  had  with  us  two 
members  of  the  original  Deaconess  Committee  of  the  German 
Hospital  Board,  appointed  in  1885,  Mr.  G.  A.  Schwarz  and 
Prof.  Adolph  Spaeth,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  and  likewise,  the  Rev. 
Hugo  Grahn,  D.  D.,  who  was  a  member  of  the  first  Board  of 
Trustees  of  our  Motherhouse,  organized  in  1887.  Before 
another  year  had  passed.  Dr.  Spaeth,  whose  whole-souled 
eloquence  had  been  the  closing  climax  of  our  jubilee,  had 
entered  into  eternal  rest.  Though  suffering  seriously  for 
some  time,  his  friends,  and  even  his  family,  were  quite  unpre- 
pared for  the  shock,  when  the  Lord  called  him  from  his  labors 
on  Sunday,  June  25,  1910.  Li  him  the  Church  lost  one  of  her 
most  devoted  and  energetic  leaders  and  her  most  eloquent 
preacher,  especially  in  the  German  language ;  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Mt.  Airy,  Philadelphia,  one  of  its  most  scholarly 
and  inspiring  teachers;  but  our  Alotherhouse  lost  in  him  a 
spiritual  father.     He  contributed,  more  than  any  other  man, 

(54) 


toward  its  character  and  policy,  and  there  is  not  a  page  in 
the  history  of  the  first  twenty-five  years  of  our  deaconess 
work  without  his  telling  influence.  Together  with  Pastor 
Goedel,  he  issued,  in  1896,  the  invitation  to  the  Lutheran 
Motherhouses  in  this  country,  resulting  in  the  organization  of 
a  Conference  that  has  done  much  for  the  uniformity  of 
principles  and  practice.  Of  this  Conference,  Dr.  Spaeth  was 
the  first,  and  during  his  lifetime,  the  only  President.  Within 
less  than  two  years  another  charter  member  followed  him, 
the  Rev.  Hugo  Grahn,  D.  D..  who  entered  into  his  rest,  after 
a  most  busy  and  useful  life,  on  April  17th,  1912.  He  had 
served  our  Alotherhouse  with  rare  fidelity,  especially  as  sec- 
retary of  the  Board  from  the  date  of  its  organization,  until 
advanced  feebleness  prompted  him  to  decline  a  re-election 
to  this  office  in  January  1909,  though  he  continued  as  an 
active  member  of  the  Board.  The  loss  of  these  servants  of 
the  Lord  is  still  keenly  felt,  but  with  gratitude  to  God  we 
rejoice  in  having  been  able  to  secure  as  their  successors  the 
Rev.  H.  OiTermann,  D.  D.,  N.  T.  Professor  at  the  Mt.  Airy 
Seminary,  and  Mr.  E.  Clarence  Miller,  one  of  the  leading  men 
in  the  Church  as  well  as  in  financial  circles.  The  former 
entered  the  Board  in  January,  1911.  as  the  successor  of  Dr. 
Spaeth,  the  latter  in  January,  1913,  in  the  place  of  Dr.  Grahn. 
At  this  writing  our  Vice-President,  Mr.  G.  A.  Schwarz,  re- 
mains as  the  only  charter-member  of  the  Board.  May  it  please 
God  to  spare  him  for  many  more  years  of  further  service  to 
our  Motherhouse  and  to  the  German  Hospital,  of  whose  Board 
he  also  is  one  of  the  most  active  and  faithful  members. 

The  most  important  step  for  the  development  of  our  work 
in  recent  years  was  ,the  purchase  of  the  large  triangular  plot 
of  ground,  with  its  spacious  buildings,  directly  west  of  the 
,  Motherhouse  and  extending  from  Twenty-second  to  Twenty- 
fourth  street.  After  the  buildings  had  been  remodeled,  in 
jjart  rebuilt,  and  the  grounds  laid  out  anew,  our  school  for 
girls  was  transferred  there  from  the  fourth  floor  of  the  Mother- 
house'.  In  grateful  memory  of  the  founder  and  benefactor 
of  our  institution,  who  so  modestly  refrained  from  naming 
any  part  of  these  institutions  after  himself,  this  school  now 
bears  his  name  and  is  known  as  "The  Lankenau  School  for 

(55) 


Girls."  The  school  was  opened  here  on  October  12th,  1910, 
but  the  formal  dedication  did  not  take  place  until  February 
7th,  1911,  when  all  the  alterations  had  been  completed.  The 
President  of  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Rev.  E. 
T.  Horn,  D.  D.,  L.  L.  D.,  and  the  President  of  the  Philadel- 
phia German  Conference,  the  Rev.  Otto  Kleine,  took  part  in 
the  exercises  as  the  representatives  of  the  Church ;  a  German 
address  was  delivered  by  Prof.  H.  Offermann,  D.  D.,  and  an 
English  address  by  the  Rev.  J.  A.  W.  Haas,  D.  D.,  President 
of  Muhlenberg  College.  The  exercises  took  place  in  the  audi- 
torium of  the  school  and  were  attended  by  many  persons 
interested  in  educational  work.  It  was  a  day  of  great  rejoic- 
ing for  every  one  connected  with  the  Motherhouse,  but,  above 
all,  for  the  President  of  the  Board,  the  Hon.  William  H. 
Staake,  whose  indefatigable  efforts  had  brought  the  negotia- 
tions for  the  purchase  of  this  property  to  a  most  satisfactory 
conclusion.  Nor  should  Sister  Julie  Mergner  be  forgotten, 
under  whose'  able  administration  the  school  developed  to  the 
point  that  justified  the  investment  of  more  than  $200,000  in 
the  expansion  of  our  educational  work.  The  course  of  study 
has  now  also  been  increased,  so  that  three  departments  are 
formed ;  the  Junior,  the  Intermediate  and  the  Senior,  of  four 
years  each,  making  a  twelve-year  course,  parallel  to  that  of  the 
public  elementary,  grammar  and  high  schools.  The  services 
rendered  by  the  Lankenau  School  are  appreciated  by  an  ever- 
increasing  number  of  parents  and  their  daughters,  who  find 
that  the  instruction  and  training  received  here  give  superior 
standing  in  other  educational  institutions  and  have  really  laid 
the  foundation  for  a  successful,  useful,  and  therefore  happy 
life  of  many  of  our  students. 

The  Kindergarten,  which  had  been  conducted  in  the 
basement  of  the  Motherhouse  under  rather  unfavorable  con- 
ditions, likewise  found  a  comfortable  home  in  one  of  the  build- 
ings of  the  Lankenau  School,  having  its  own  well-equipped 
play-ground  entirely  separate  from  that  of  the  school. 

No  less  gratifying  than  the  expansion  of  our  educational 
work  was  the  further  branching  out  into  new  fields  of  labor. 
True,  the  shortage  of  experienced  parish  Sisters  compelled 
us,  to  our  own  keen  sorrow,  to  withdraw  the  Sister  from  the 

(57) 


German  Lutheran  Zion's  Church,  in  Easton,  Pa.,  where  she' 
had  labored  with  marked  success  for  six  years,  in  order  to 
place  her  at  Zion's  Lutheran  Church,  in  Philadelphia,  whose 
parish  work  had  been  interrupted  by  the'  illness  and  eventual 
leaving  of  their  Sister,  and  where  conditions  demanded  a 
deaconess  even  more  urgently  than  in  Easton.  We  were, 
however,  able,  in  January,  1910,  to  resume  the  parish  diacon- 
ate  at  St.  Paul's  German  Lutheran  Church  in  Philadelphia, 
where  a  Sister  had  been  placed  as  early  as  1887,  and  where, 
as  a  result  of  the  changed  conditions  caused  by  immigrants, 
deaconess  work  was  now  more  necessary  than  ever  before. 

A  new  line  of  work  was  entered  when,  in  response  to  a 
most  urgent  request  from  the  Rev.  A.  B.  Moldenke,  Ph.  D., 
of  St.  Peter's  German  Lutheran  Church,  in  New  York  City, 
we  sent  two  of  our  Sisters  on  July  11th,  1910,  to  take  charge 
of  Elsinore  Camp,  near  Plainfield,  N.  J.  Here  about  eighty 
children  from  the  over-crowded  tenements  of  New  York  enjoy 
a  two  weeks'  outing  each,  during  July  and  August.  Since 
then  we  have  had  two  Sisters  there  every  summer,  and,  though 
the  duties  and  responsibilities  tax  every  possible  talent,  from 
house-keeping  to  nursing  and  child-training,  our  Sisters  go 
gladly,  realizing  the  valuable  service  they  can  render  these 
children,  who  naturally  are  wild  with  delight  in  romping  over 
the  wooded  crests  of  the  AVatchung  mountains,  but  who  also 
are  accessible  to  spiritual  truths,  especially  at  the  daily  devo- 
tional exercises. 

Early  in  1911  the  Motherhouse  found  itself  in  a  position 
that  made  it  possible  to  yield  to  the  repeated  and  urgent  pleas 
of  the  Rev.  G.  A.  Benze,  D.  D.,  under  whose  leadership  a 
Home  for  the  Aged  had  been  founded  about  three  years 
previous,  by  the  Lutherans  of  Erie,  Pa.,  and  on  April  20th 
two  of  our  deaconesses  were  placed  in  charge  of  that  Home 
at  a  public  service,  which  gave  unmistakable  evidence  of  tlie 
warm  welcome  accorded  them.  The  same  cordial  spirit  has 
marked  the  attitude  of  the  Board  and  the  general  public  ever 
since  and  has  done  much  to  offset  the  fact  that  this  is  the 
station  farthest  removed  from  the  Motherhouse. 

Since  June  1st,  1913,  the  German  Hospital  has  inaugurated 
a  long-cherished  plan  and  has  been  granted  a  Sister  whose  ex- 

(58) 


elusive  duty  it  is  to  look  after  the  interests  of  patients  in  need 
of  far  more  than  medical  or  surgical  treatment  can  supply. 
While  from  the  very  beginning  cases  of  poverty  and  other 
distress  have  received  the  special  attention  of  the  Sisters  under 
whose  notice  they  happened  to  come',  bringing  material  relief 
in  most  instances,  the  creation  of  this  special  "Social  Service" 
department  has  decided  advantages  and  deserves  the  most 
hearty  co-operation. 

Many  more  fields  are  anxiously,  almost  impatiently,  wait- 
ing for  Sisters,  among  them,  at  this  writing,  three  institutions 
for  children  and  at  least  fifteen  congregations.  The  petitions 
for  deaconesses  would  rapidly  increase,  should  we  reach  the 
point  when  we  could  grant  them.  What  a  grand  opportunity 
for  blessed  service  presents  itself  to  Christian  young  women. 
The  leaders  of  the  Church  are  realizing  the  necessity  of  having 
trained  deaconesses  for  many  of  the  phases  of  congregational 
and  institutional  activity,  and  we  may  rest  assured  that  the 
cry  of  the  needy  will  be  answered  by  the  Lord  and  that  He 
will  prompt  many  hearts  to  obey  His  call  for  laborers  in 
His  vinevard  ! 


(59) 


Uppart  nf  tift  Mark  nf  tijp  UJotljf rljauaf 
Wet.  1,  1912— ®rt.  I,  1913. 


1.  The  Old  People's  Home. — This  was  originally  intended 
by  Mr.  Lankenau  as  "The  Mary  J.  Drexel  Home,"  with  which 
the  Motherhouse  and  all  the  other  institutions  were  afterwards 
united  under  one  roof.  It  was  opened  November  11,  1889, 
and  offers  a  lifelong  home  to  well-recommended,  well-behaved, 
temperate  and  respectable  aged  couples  or  individuals  of  Ger- 
man descent,  not  suft'ering  from  incurable,  infectious  or  repul- 
sive diseases.  They  must  be  over  sixty  years  of  age  and  un- 
able to  provide  for  their  own  support ;  they  must  have  been  liv- 
ing in  Philadelphia  for  at  least  five  years  previous  to  their 
admission,  and  belong  to  a  recognized  Protestant  Church. 
.After  a  certain  period  of  probation  they  are  fully  received. 
They  pay  an  entrance  fee  of  $300  and  bind  themselves  to  leave 
to  the  Home  any  other  real  or  personal  property  they  may 
possess. 

Two  Sisters  are  in  charge  of  the  Old  People's  Home, 
which,  during  the  past  year,  had  forty-eight  inmates.  Of 
these,  one  died.  Vacancies  are  quickly  filled  from  a  long 
"waiting  list,"  on  which  at  present  are  48  names.  The  health 
of  the  inmates  is  most  satisfactory,  and  they  evidently  find 
themselves  quite  comfortable  in  their  home,  owing  to  the 
beautiful,  healthy  quarters  which  they  occupy,  the  care  they 
receive,  the  regular  Sunday  services  and  daily  devotions,  and 
also  to  the  fact  that,  as  far  as  the  state  of  their  health  permits, 
they  are  kept  busy  with  lighter  work  about  the  house. 

2.  The  Children's  Hospital  comes  next  in  the  date  of  its 
foundation.  It  was  opened  on  May  15,  1889,  and  was  in- 
tended not  only  to  relieve  the  German  Hospital  to  some  ex- 
tent, but  also  to  serve  for  the  practical  training  of  the  Sisters. 

The  service  among  these  little  patients,   though   very   la- 

(6i) 


borious,  is  most  cheerfully  rendered,  and  is  a  blessed  work, 
inasmuch  as  the  Sister  in  this  case  is  not  only  a  hospital  nurse, 
but  also  takes  the  place  of  a  mother  and  friendly  comforter. 
And  certainly  these  little  ones  are  the  most  grateful  patients. 
As  a  rule  they  enjoy  their  stay  in  these  beautiful  and  airy 
rooms  under  the  loving-  care  of  the  Sisters.  The  Hospital, 
with  them,  is  not  a  place  of  terror,  but  whenever  the  first  try- 
ing pains  are  over,  we  see  everywhere  happy  and  contented 
faces. 

One  of  the  illustrations  shows  a  ward  in  the  Children's 
Hospital  and  the  Sisters  among  the  little  ones  that  are  com- 
mitted to  their  care. 

Nothing  is  left  undone  to  facilitate  the  work  of  the  insti- 
tution and  add  to  the  comfort  of  the  patients.  The  new  and 
commodious  operating  room  has  the  top  and  sides  constructed 
almost  entire!}'  of  glass,  which  allows  plenty  of  light,  so  essen- 
tial to  good  surgery,  at  all  times  of  the  day,  while  electric 
lights  of  sufficient  power  to  almost  ecpial  daylight  are  used 
in  emergency  cases  at  night. 

During  the  year  1912.  one  of  the  most  successful  in  the 
history  of  the  Children's  Hospital,  there  were  treated  in  the 
wards  and  private  rooms  1055  patients,  ^■iz. :  449  surgical,  234 
medical,  10  eye,  and  362  nose  and  throat  cases.  Of  this  num- 
ber 419  were  treated  free,  and  many  of  the  rest  were  unable 
to  pay  the  regular  rate  of  one  dollar  per  day.  There'  were  598 
1:)oys  and  417  girls;  989  Avhite  and  26  colored;  916  were  dis- 
charged cured,  50  improved,  and  15  unimproved.  The  deaths 
numbered  40 — a  mortality  of  less  than  four  per  cent.  The 
work  in  the  various  dispensaries  has  been  heavy,  there  having 
been  13,079  visits  made  by  3,275  patients.  Is  it  not  a  blessed 
privilege  to  assist  in  the  relief  of  such  a  ^"ast  amount  of 
suffering? 

Our  sincere  thanks  for  faithful  co-operation  are  due  the 
entire  medical  force,  especially  the  chiefs  of  the  various  staffs. 
Dr.  John  B.  Deaver,  Dr.  Harry  C.  Deaver,  Dr.  Alfred  Hand, 
Jr.,  Dr.  Charles  S.  Turnbull,  Dr.  Arthur  A.  Bliss,  and  to  the 
Resident  Phy.sician,  Dr.  Loyal  A.  Shondy,  who  served  faithfully 
and  efficiently  until  June  1,  1913,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Dr. 
G.   Lee   Hynson,   who  is  well   fitted   for  this  position  by  his 

(62) 


previous  experience.  On  May  1st,  1913,  a  severe  blow  fell 
upon  the  Children's  Hospital,  when  Dr.  Arthur  A.  Bliss  sud- 
denly passed  away  within  less  than  forty-eight  hours  after  he 
had  performed  his  last  operations  at  our  hospital.  For  twenty- 
four  years  he  had  been  in  charge  of  our  Ear,  Nose,  and  Throat 
department,  in  which  he  combined  with  his  expert  knowledge 
and  rare  ef^ciency  such  a  spirit  of  intelligence  and  sympathetic 
co-operation  with  our  Sisters  and  the  jNIotherhouse,  that  when 
a  Medical  Board  was  created,  he  was  appointed  chairman,  and 
as  such  rendered  most  Aaluable  services  in  the  development  of 
our  hospital  work.  His  memory  will  be  cherished  by  all  with 
lasting  gratitude.  Until  the  regular  election  of  his  successor, 
his  former  assistant,  Dr.  Clarence  W.  Schaefifer,  who  has  won 
the  fullest  confidence  of  the  IMotherhouse  during  a  three-year 
term  as  resident  physician,  is  in  charge  of  this  department. 

A  special  report  of  the  Children's  Hospital  is  published 
annually,  and  can  be  had  on  application. 

3.  Next  in  order  of  time  is  our  educational  work,  bcLun 
in  1890  as  the  School  for  Girls  and  since  1910  carried  on  as 
the  Lankenau  School  for  Girls.  The  aim  is  "to  train  young 
girls  to  become  truly  cultured  women,  well  grounded  in  the 
Christian  faith,  and  prepared  for  the  practical  duties  of  life." 
From  two  classes  the  school  has  de\-eloped  to  a  full  twelve- 
year  course,  enabling  it  to  place  properh^  any  girl  of  school 
age".  The  three  elements  emphasized  in  our  aim  from  the  be- 
ginning— culture,  religion,  and  practical  adaptability — place 
a  still  further  expansion  of  the  course  upon  us  as  a  sacred 
obligation  to  be  met  as  demands  arise  and  circumstances 
warrant,  at  the  same  time  it  is  clear,  howe\"er,  that  the 
Lankenau  School  can  ne\er  be  a  mere  college  preparatory 
school.  It  has  a  higher  calling  and  a  broader  scope.  There 
is,  up  to  the  i)resent,  no  other  boarding  school  for  such  young 
girls  within  the  Lutheran  Church  in  this  country.  The  im- 
portant service  rendered,  therefore,  t(j  Lutheran  parents  who 
desire  to  send  their  daughters  away  from  home  for  their 
education,  is  obvious. 

In  the  year  1912-13  the  total  number  of  pupils  enrolled 
was  ninety-nine ;  of  these,  46  were  day  pupils.  The  faculty 
consisted  of  seventeen  teachers,  eight  of  whom  are  deacon- 

(63) 


esses.  The  Lankenau  School  has  been  making  steady  progress 
in  every  direction,  and  the  expressions  of  confidence  and  grati- 
tude coming  to  us  from  parents  and  graduates,  as  well  as  the 
excellent  standing  of  our  former  pupils  on  entering  other 
schools,  justify  the  conclusion  that  our  school  fills  with  credit 
an  important  place  in  the  educational  system  and  meets  a 
real  demand.  \\'hen  the  Lutheran  Church  and,  in  fact,  many 
outside  of  it — for  more  than  thirty  per  cent  of  our  pupils  are 
not  from  Lutheran  families — will  have  awakened  to  this  fact, 
even  our  present  spacious  quarters  will  be  crowded.  It 
certainly  is  encouraging  that  of  the  twenty-three  new  pupils 
entered  on  September  15th  of  the  present  year,  eleven  are  in 
the  first,  or  freshmen  class  of  our  Senior  department.  (High 
School),  bringing  that  class  up  to  twenty-one.  The  total 
number  of  pupils  enrolled  by  October  1st  is  ninety-five,  fifty- 
nine  of  whom  are  boarders.  Sister  Julie  Mergner  is  directly 
in  charge  of  the  school.  W'e  cannot  close  this  paragraph  with- 
out a  word  of  sympathy  for  Miss  Augusta  Schmidt,  a  most 
efiicient  member  of  our  faculty  from  the  organization  of  the 
school  until  last  year,  when  she  was  forced  by  prolonged  ill- 
ness to  resign.  We  gratefully  testify  to  her  efificient  and  faith- 
ful services  and  assure  her  of  our  abiding  esteem  and  our 
deepest  sympathy  in  her  aftfiction.  A  recent  graduate  of  the 
Philadelphia  Normal  School  has  been  added  to  the  faculty, 
Miss  Cora  Klebsattel,  who  completed  her  course  at  our 
Lankenau  School  three  years  ago.  The  regular  catalogue  will 
be  furnished  upon  request  to  any  person  desiring  further  in- 
formation. 

4.  Our  Christian  Kindergarten,  opened  on  October  5, 
1893,  has  been  in  charge  of  Sister  Anna  Marie  Enderlein  for 
the  past  twelve  years,  during  which  time  she  has  trained  for 
such  work  twenty-seven  young  women,  besides  a  num- 
ber of  our  Sisters.  One  of  the  latter  is  now  her  assistant. 
Last  year  the  total  number  of  children  enrolled  was  135,  while 
up  to  October  1st  of  this  year  it  was  eighty,  and  the  highest 
attendance  sixty.  Bible  history  and  verses,  hymns  and 
prayers  are  taught  daily,  as  well  as  stories,  games  and  useful 
pastimes.  Especially  in  our  day  of  many  attractions  which 
are  a  menace  to  good  morals  and  citizenship,  the  importance 

(65) 


of  filling  the  minds  even  of  these  little  ones  with  high  ideals 
and  a  consciousness  of  personal  responsibility  to  God,  cannot 
be  overestimated;  and  the  value  of  the  Christian  Kindergarten 
for  this  purpose  needs  no  proof. 

II.— THE  WORK  ON   OUT-STATIONS. 

1.  The  first  and  principal  field  of  labor  is,  of  course,  the 
German  Hospital,  to  which  the  Motherhouse  itself  owes  its 
origin.  It  constantly  requires  the  service  of  about  thirty 
Sisters  and  a  great  number  of  assistants.  They  are  at  work 
on  eight  stations,  under  the  supervision  of  as  many  Sisters. 
besides  one  in  the  dispensary,  two  in  the  operating  room,  two 
in  the  kitchen,  one'  in  the  diet-kitchen,  two  in  the  pharmacy, 
and  one  in  the  X-ray  laboratory.  The  Directing  Sister  is 
Magdalene  von  Bracht,  assisted  by  Sister  Marie  Koeneke  as 
Superintendent  of  Nurses.  Besides  a  number  of  male  and 
female  nurses,  more  than  fifty-six  ])upils  of  the  Nurses'  Train- 
ing School  assist  in  the  work.  The  number  of  patients  per  day 
is  180  to  190 ;  frequently,  however,  over  200.  In  the  past  year 
3,589  house  patients  were  cared  for,  and  8,671  dispensary 
cases  treated  in  29,494  \isits. 

Since  June  1st,  1913,  the  hospital  has  oj^ened  a  "Social 
Service"  department,  of  which  Sister  Friederike  Fessler  has 
been  placed  in  charge.  Special  cases  of  distress  have  always 
been  relie^•ed  by  our  Sisters  as  far  as  their  means  and  time 
permitted,  but  now^  much  more  systematic  and  effective  work 
is  possible.    A\'e  feel  assured  that  much  blessing  will  result. 

2-6.  In  Parish  v^^ork  there  are  now  five  Sisters,  divided 
among  the  following  Lutheran  congregations:  Zion's,  St. 
Johannis,  and  St.  Paul's,  Philadelphia ;  St.  Paul's,  New  York, 
and  St.  John's,  Easton,  Pa.  In  connection  with  the  care  of 
the  sick  and  poor,  the  teaching  of  children  has  been  assumed 
in  four  parishes,  viz. :  Christian  Kindergarten  work  in  three, 
and  in  one  congregation  instruction  in  religion  and  in  the 
German  language  on  five  afternoons  per  week  and  on  Satur- 
day  mornings. 

7.  The  Easton  Hospital,  at  Easton,  Pa.,  has  been  in 
charge  of  our  Sisters  since  its  organization  in  1890.  For  the 
past    nine    years    Sister    Marie    Sowa   has   been    the    superin- 

(66) 


tendent,  during  which  period  remarkable  progress  has  been 
made.  She  is  assisted  in  the  various  departments  by  three 
Sisters.  The  training  school  for  nurses  has  eighteen  pupils. 
In  the  past  year  1,176  house  patients  were  nursed  and  509 
were  treated  in  the  dispensary.  The  success  and  satisfaction 
with  which  our  Sisters  labor  there  is  largely  due  to  the 
sympathetic  and  intelligent  co-operation  of  the  Board  of 
Managers  and  the  Advisory  Board. 

8.  In  September,  1893,  two  Sisters  were  sent  to  take 
charge  of  the  Lutheran  St.  John's  Home,  in  Allegheny,  Pa.  As 
the  first  few  inmates  did  not  demand  the  entire  time  and 
strength  of  the  Sisters,  these  began  to  look  after  the  poor  and 
the  sick  of  the  neighborhood.  In  several  cases  of  serious 
illness  they  rendered  such  efficient  aid  to  the  local  physicians, 
that  these  planned  a  hospital  in  that  portion  of  the  city,  to  be 
placed  under  the  direction  of  our  Sisters.  The  result  was  the 
St.  John's  General  Hospital,  opened  in  1896  and  served  by  our 
Sisters  until  the  lack  of  Sisters  for  the  German  Hospital  led 
us  to  withdraw  them  on  July  15,  1909.  In  the  meantime,  the 
original  St.  John's  Home  was  removed  to  a  most  beautiful 
location  at  Mars,  Butler  Co.,  Pa.  There  is  now  one  building 
for  the  aged  and  another  for  orphans,  and  at  present  plans 
are  under  consideration  for  an  additional  Iniilding. 

Sister  Friederike  Ostermann  has  been  in  charge  of  this 
work  since  1900,  assisted  by  two  other  deaconesses,  caring  for 
twenty-two  aged  men  and  women  and  for  thirty-six  children. 
For  the  latter,  a  special  teacher,  Mr.  H.  Freitag,  has  been  en- 
gaged by  the  Board,  whose  valuable  assistance  is  very  much 
appreciated. 

9.  Since  February,  1907,  one  of  our  Deaconesses  is  devot- 
ing her  entire  time  to  the  "Kensington  Dispensary  for  the 
Treatment  of  Tuberculosis,"  organized  in  1905,  with  her  co- 
operation by  several  Lutheran  pastors  and  laymen  in  that 
and.meighboring  districts  of  Philadelphia,  and  now  controlled 
by  an  incorporated  Board  of  Managers,  composed  of  Lutheran 
women.'  The  benefits  of  this  charity  are  dispensed  to  sufiferers 
without  distinction  of  race  or  creed.  Alore  than  200  patients 
are  at  present  treated  there,  not  merely  for  their  diseased 
lungs,  but  also  for  the  consequent  aft'ections  of  the  nose  and 

(67) 


throat.  F'ven  dentistry  is  called  upon  to  aid  in  the  cure  oi 
incipient  cases  and  in  giving  relief  to  those  beyond  human 
help.  The  blessings  gone  forth  from  this  work,  most  unsel- 
fishly supported  by  a  number  of  physicians  of  highest  rank, 
are  generally  recognized. 

Since  1909  the  Dispensary  is  located  in  its  own  well- 
equipped  property  at  the  corner  of  Hancock  Street  and  Susque- 
hanna Avenue.  The  beautifully  located  farm,  "River  Crest," 
on  the  Schuylkill  near  Phoenixville,  Pa.,  purchased  about  two 
years  later,  is  being  prepared  to  accommodate  especially 
children  threatened  with  this  disease.  For  the  management 
of  "River  Crest"  a  second  Sister  is  desired,  but  we  have  not 
yet  been  able  to  grant  the  urgent  plea  of  the  Board. 

10.  Our  latest  station  is  the  Lutheran  Home  for  the 
Aged,  at  Erie,  Pa.,  founded  under  the  leadership  of  the  Rev. 
G.  A.  r.enze,  D.D.  On  April  20th,  1910.  we  had  the  pleasure  of 
Benze,  D.D.  On  April  20th,  1910,  we  had  the  pleasure  of 
inducting  two  of  our  Sisters  into  this  work  at  a  public  service 
in  St.  John's  Church,  in  which  the  various  Lutheran  congrega- 
tions of  Erie  united.  The  warm  welcome  accorded  our  Sisters 
on  that  occasion  and  the  loyal  support  given  them  ever  since 
has  materially  lightened  the  burden  of  responsilnlity  resting 
especially  on  Sister  Frida  Broecker,  who  is  in  charge.  At 
present  thirty  aged  men  and  women  are  under  the  care  of 
the  Sisters. 

11.  The  Lutheran  Settlement  of  the  Inner  Mission 
Society,  at  1333  Frankford  Avenue,  Philadelphia,  has  had 
Sister  Louise  A\"ackernagel  connected  witli  this  most  im- 
portant and  blessed  work  since  1907,  but  owing  to  her  im- 
paired health,  she  had  to  be  withdrawn  September  1st.  1913, 
to  the  deep  sorrow  of  the  people  among  whom  she  labored 
and  the  sincere  regret  of  the  Board  of  the  Inner  Mission 
Society.  As  no  other  Sister  was  available  for  this  work,  this 
station  is.  at  least  for  the  present,  given  up  by  the  ]\Iother- 
house. 

12.  From  July  5(\  to  August  20th.  1913.  two  Sisters  were 
in  charge  of  Elsinore  Camp,  near  \\"atchung.  X.  J.,  and  took 
care  of  three  different  groups  of  children,  numbering  25  to  30 
each,  sent  there  bv  the  Rev.  A.   P..  ]\Ioldenke,  Ph.   D.,  of  St. 

(69) 


Peter's  Lutheran  Church.  New  York  City.  We  feel  assured 
that  the  children  will  have  received  more  than  mere  bodily 
benefit  from  their  camping'  experiences. 

CONCLUSION. 

We  cannot  close  this  report  without  an  expression  of 
sincere  appreciation  and  gratitude  to  all  the  friends,  especially 
to  many  of  the  pastors,  for  the  opportunities  given  us  to 
present  the  cause  of  the  Female  Diaconate,  and  for  their 
active  efforts  in  securing  candidates  for  the  Sisterhood.  We 
are  encouraged  by  the  ever-increasing  circle  of  loyal  sup- 
porters and  feel  assured  of  larger  growth  and  usefulness  in 
consequence.  Rut  we  cannot  refrain  from  adding  also  an 
urgent  appeal  to  the  Church  at  large  for  a  more  general  as 
well  as  active  interest  in  this  work.  Frcim  the  outline  of 
the  development  of  the  Female  Diaconate  as  presented  on  the 
previous  pages,  and  no  less  from  the  historv  of  our  Philadel- 
phia Motherhouse,  God's  guidance  and  blessing  are  as  plainly 
evident  as  the  great  need  of  the  Diaconate  in  the  Church  of 
to-day.  From  the  large  cities,  and  even  from  smaller  manu- 
facturing towns,  come  most  earnest  pleas  to  send  deaconesses 
as  God's  angels  of  mercy  to  the  destitute  and  suft'ering,  to 
the  endangered  and  the  lost,  many  of  whom  have  once  been 
or  still  are  communicants  at   Lutheran  altars. 

Many  requests  of  this  nature  are  received  from  congrega- 
tions and  institutions,  and  this  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  'Our 
present  inability  to  furnish  Sisters  for  new  work  is  generally 
known.  How  many  more  would  have  l^een  asked  for.  had 
there  been  a  reasonable  hope  for  a  favorable  reply!  Some 
friends  do  not  see  the  A-alue  of  deaconesses  until  they  are  in 
need  of  them,  as  the}-  have  probalily  never  before  given  our 
repeated  appeals  for  Diaconate  more  than  a  passing  notice. 
Yet  we  would  not  hesitate  a  moment  to  send  them  a  Sister  that  has 
needed  years  of  training  to  qualify  her  for  the  broad  lines  of  work 
and  sympathy  expected  of  her,  had  we  the  right  one  to  spare. 
True,  some  wonder  why  our  JNIotherhouse  has  had  so  many 
losses  during  these  twenty-five  years,  but  it  must  not  be  over- 
looked that  even  the  consecrated  Sister  is  at  lil)erty  to  ]ea\"e. 

(70) 


and  that  in  many  cases  they  are  almost  incessantly  urged  by 
relatives  and  friends,  prompted  usually  by  selfish  reasons,  to 
forsake'  the  Diaconate  after  they  have  received  their  training. 
It  takes  women  of  heroic  fibre  to  remain  loyal  to  this  cause  of 
the  Lord.  AVe  cannot  expect  to  do  better  than  Fliedner,  who 
during  the  first  forty  years,  from  1836-1876,  of  940  consecrated 
deaconesses,  exclusive  of  probationers,  lost  418 ! 

In  view  of  the  support  the  Female  Diaconate  is  finding  in 
other  denominations  in  this  country,  our  plea  for  larger  sup- 
port is  not  unreasonable.  In  1908  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  reported  157  deaconesses,  not  counting  the  more  than 
twenty-five  female  orders  with  several  hundred  Sisters,  and 
the  IMethodist  Episcopal  Church  731  deaconesses  and  420  pro- 
liationers,  a  total  of  1151,  while  our  Lutheran  Church  in  this 
C(_)untry  had  only  307.  Shall  we'  also  mention  that  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  sisterhoods  in  the  United  States  are  said  to 
have  a  total  meml)ership  of  56,000?  Perhaps  it  would 
prove  a  wholesome  stimulus  to  hear  that  in  round  numbers 
they  claim  600  colleges  and  academies  for  women,  700  institu- 
tions of  charity  and  3,000  parish  schools  ;  that  they  have  a  total 
of  1,000,000  dependents  to  care  for,  have  70,000  girls  in  their 
academies  and  colleges  and  800.000  children  in  their  parochial 
schools.  This  gives  one  a  fair  idea  of  the  possibilities  of  truly 
consecrated  women  banded  together  to  further  the  interests 
of  their  Church.  We  are  no  advocate  of  any  service  rendered 
otherwise  than  in  absolutely  evangelical  freedom ;  but  the 
most  bitter  opponent  of  Romanism  will  have  to  admit  that, 
with  noble  exceptions,  of  course,  the  spirit  of  true  consecration 
to  the  Lord's  cause  is  indeed  quite  feeble  among  us  compared 
to  that  self-sacrifice'  so  willingly  rendered  by  Romanists.  Let 
us  not  charge  them  with  work  righteousness  and  hope  of  re- 
ward, while  the  possession  of  the  blessings  of  the  full  gospel 
leaves  the  great  mass  of  our  people  inactive,  because  at  heart 
ungrateful. 

AA'hat  we  need  throughout  the  Church  is  a  genuine  ap- 
preciation of  the  truths  so  masterly  and  devoutly  set  forth 
by  Luther,  especially  in  the  explanation  of  the  second  and 
third  articles  of  the  Apostles'  Creed,  and  yet  so  thoughtlessly 
confessed!     W^e  need  luore  plain  honesty  in  dealing  with  our- 

(71) 


selves  and  with  our  God,  that  we  will  stand  by  what  we  tell 
Him,  for  the  fact  is  that  to  no  one  are  promises  of  greater 
import  made  and  with  no  one  more  thoughtlessly  broken 
than  with  Him,  on  whom  our  eternal  destiny  depends.  As 
soon  as  the  mass  of  our  people  will  treat  religion  seriously, 
the  cry  of  the  Church  for  men  and  means  will  be  turned  into 
jubilation,  and  not  merely  the  deaconess  cause  will  thrive 
beyond  all  present  expectations,  but  every  branch  of  the 
Church's  work,  will  assume  unheard-of  proportions.  The  dea- 
coness cause  is  not  suffering  more  than  any  other  of  the 
Church,  Init  no  other  cause  is  such  a  sensitive  indicator  of  the 
spiritual  condition  of  the  Church.  The  largest  and  most 
rapidly  growing  Motherhouses  in  (iermany  are  found  in 
districts  well  known  for  the  spirituality  of  the  inhabitants, 
who  are,  however,  just  as  strong  in  their  support  of  Inner 
^ilissions  and  Foreign  Alissions  as  of  the  deaconess  cause. 
Among  the  leaders  with  such  broad  sympathies,  Loehe  and 
von  Bodelschwingh  are  perhaps  the  best  known,  both  as  in- 
tensely interested  in  the  conversion  of.  the  heathen  as  in  the 
saving  of  their  brethren  fallen  by  the  wayside  at  home,  and 
laboring  as  incessantly  for  true  spirituality  among  the  masses 
as  for  the  relief  of  bodily  distress. 

In  conclusion,  permit  us  to  suggest  to  e\-ery  pastor  to 
inform  himself  by  reading  the  literature  on  the  diaconate ; 
to  visit  the  Drexel  Home,  if  at  all  possible  ;  to  refer  to  the 
diaconate  as  occasion  oft'ers.  either  in  his  sermons  or  in  the 
catechetical  instruction,  where  the  last  clauses  of  Luther's 
explanation  of  the  first  and  second  articles  lead  right  up  to 
it  in  the  practical- application  ;  and  to  bring  qualified  persr)ns 
who  are  inclined  toward  the  diaconate.  into  touch  with  the 
Motherhouse  by  correspondence,  or,  which  is  far  more  satis- 
factory, by  a  personal  visit.  While  the  result  may  mean  a 
temporary  loss  to  the  working  force  of  the  congregation,  it 
would  mean  a  blessing  to  some  one  else,  who,  having  stood 
idle,  must  now  step  into  the  l^reach.  In  reality,  a  direct 
blessing  to  the  family,  the  pastor,  and  the  parish  would  result. 
as  actual  experience  proves. 

It  is  encouraging  to  report  that  the  General  Council,  dur- 

(73) 


ing  the  closing  session  of  the  Toledo  convention  in  September, 
1913,  resolved,  that  on  Septuagesima  Sunday  the  pastors  call 
the  attention  of  their  people  to  the  Female  Diaconate.  This 
makes  it  possible  for  the  Motherhouses  within  the  General 
Council  to  mail  to  each  pastor  for  that  purpose  a  brief  state- 
ment regarding  the  status  and  needs  of  this  cause. 

The  Federation  of  the  Women's  Missionary  Societies 
within  the  General  Council,  meeting  at  Toledo  directly  after 
the  adjournment  of  that  official  body,  added  to  its  various 
missionary  departments  one  especially  charged  with  the  work 
of  bringing  the  deaconess  cause  directly  to  the  attention  of  the 
various  synodical,  conference,  and  local  societies,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  enlisting  young  women  in  this  service  of  the  Church. 
The  chairman,  Airs.  William  P.  AI.  Braun,  of  Philadelphia,  is 
thoroughly  interested  in  this  work,  and  by  her  close  associa- 
tions with  the  management  and  the  Sisters  of  our  Mother- 
house,  as  well  as  for  other  reasons,  is  exceptionally  well  quali- 
fied for  this  position.  We  rejoice  in  the  above  action  taken 
on  the  eve  of  our  Silver  Jubilee,  and  enter  with  new  courage 
upon  the  second  quarter  of  a  century  of  our  efforts  in  behalf 
of  the  Church  in  her  ministrations  of  mercy.  Let  us  remem- 
ber that  we  ourselves  are  to  go  forth  and  also  to  pray  that  the 
L()rd  may  send  forth  laborers.  (Luke  10:2.)  Let  us  do  our 
own  duty  to  the  fullest  extent  and  leave  the  rest  to  the  Lord  ; 
we  are  responsible  for  our  efforts,  not  for  the  result.  Having 
worked  together  in  this  common  cause,  we  shall  rejoice 
together  over  the  humble  yet  large  share  the  Female  Diaconate 
of  our  day  is  called  to  have  in  the  bringing  of  the  Kingdom. 


(74) 


CONDITIONS  OF  ADMISSION. 

1.  Our  Deaconess  Motherhouse  adheres  to  the  Evangeli- 
cal Lutheran  Church.  Onl}-  such  young  women  and  widows 
as  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  will  be  admitted. 

2.  The  motive  for  entering  the  calling  must  be  a  pure 
desire  to  serve  the  Lord.  One  who  seeks  merely  a  provision 
for  life,  or  expects  to  attain  a  higher  position  by  means  of 
the  deaconess  calling,  is  not  fitted  for  the  service. 

3.  We  desire  in  those  applying  for  admission  a  devout 
and  sincere  mind,  turned  to  spiritual  things.  This  disposition 
must  not,  however,  be  based  upon  vague  emotions,  but  upon 
the  believing  recognition  of  the  truth  of  the  gospel,  as  it  is 
presented  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  The  following  passages 
are  especially  to  be  considered  in  this  connection:  Matth.  16: 
24,  25:  20:1-7:  and  25:14-30;  Luke  14:12-14,  and  10:2; 
Phil.  3:7-11;  1  Peter  1:18,  19;  1  John  2:  15-17. 

4.  It  is  also  of  great  im]M)rtance  that  one  who  wishes  to 
become  a  deaconess  should  have  begun  to  experience  the 
grace  of  Christ  in  her  own  inner  life.  One  who  desires  to 
serve  the  Saviour  among  the  poor,  the  sufl:'ering,  and  the  de- 
graded, and  to  help  in  leading  them  to  Christ,  must  understand 
her  own  heart  well  enough  to  realize  that  she  dare  not  rely 
upon  her  own  strength,  but  only  upon  Him  who  has  said: 
"Without  me  ye  can  do  nothing." 

5.  No  young  woman  nuist  take  a  step  of  such  imi)ortance 
without  the  blessing  of  her  parents.  Her  application  for  ad- 
mission must  therefore  be  accompanied  b_v  the  written  consent 
of  her  parents,  or  if  she  be  an  orphan  in  her  minority,  of  her 
guardian. 

6.  A  young  woman  who  desires  to  choose  the  deaconess 
calling  must  be  of  an  unblemished  reputation,  and  must  there- 
fore furnish  a  testimonial  to  that  eltect  from  her  pastor.  1 
Tim.  3 :  7. 

(75) 


7.  A  deaconess  must  possess  good  physical  health.  She 
also  needs  strength  and  endurance,  so  as  to  be  equal  to  the 
labors  of  the  calling.  To  one  of  a  very  delicate  constitution, 
or  afflicted  with  a  chronic  ailment,  the  service  is  too  severe. 
She  is  not  called  upon  to  undertake  that  for  which  the  Lord 
has  not  fitted  her. 

8.  Those  applying  for  admission  must  be  between  the  age 
of  18  and  36. 

9.  The  following  qualifications  are  furthermore  necessary 
to  become  a  good  deaconess  :  She  must  possess  a  mind  capable 
of  development,  must  be  able  to  adapt  herself  to  the  associated 
life,  must  be  peaceful,  unassuming  and  willing  to  obey.  A 
cheerful  disposition  and  a  pleasant  manner  are  desirable  gifts 
for  the  calling. 

10.  While  candidates  may  enter  at  any  time,  about  May 
1st  or  September  1st  is  most  advisable.  Those  who  do  not 
know  German  must  be  willing  to  learn  it,  and  German  candi- 
dates must  study  English.  They  must  be  able  to  read,  write 
and  keep  accounts,  either  in  German  or  English  ;  they  should 
also  be  acquainted  with  the  chief  contents  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, and  know  the  most  important  texts  and  facts.  It  is 
also  expected  that  they  have  some  practice  and  experience 
in   the  usual  household  duties  and  woman's  handiwork. 

11.  All  candidates  must  pass  through  the  Preparatory 
Course.  The  branches  taught  in  this  course  include  the  study 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Church,  the 
history  and  principles  of  the  Diaconate  and  other  works  of 
mercy,  medical  instruction,  and  such  general  branches  as  his- 
toi'y^  geography,  arithmetic,  the  study  of  German  and  English, 
singing  and  needlework.  To  this  is  added  about  two  hours 
daily  of  household  duties  or  hospital  work. 

12.  The  pupils  of  the  course  w^ear  plain  wash  dresses  of 
their  own  selection,  and  aprons  furnished  by  the  Motherhouse. 
A  list  of  the  articles  to  be  brought  is  sent  each  applicant. 
Everything  must  be  of  substantial  material  and  simple  make, 
and  no  unnecessary  article  should  be  brought. 

(77) 


^6.  This  period  will  be  especially  a  time  of  self-examina- 
tion and  preparation.  After  the  conclusion  of  the  course  the 
superiors  will  decide  whether  a  candidate  is  to  be  invested, 
and  therewith  received  into  the  Sisterhood  as  a  probationer. 

14.  Each  one,  upon  being-  received  into  the  Sisterhood, 
gives  her  solemn  promise  to  obey  the  rules  of  the  House  and 
willingly  to  undertake  any  service  of  mercy  to  which  she  may 
be  called. 

15.  The  Motherhouse  provides  for  the  bodily  wants  of 
those  who,  after  having  passed  through  the  course,  have  been 
received  into  the  Sisterhood.  It  cares  for  the  consecrated 
deaconesses  in  their  old  age,  or  when  they  are  disabled  in  the 
service. 

16.  The  deaconess  is  bound  by  no  vow,  but  it  is  taken 
for  granted  that  she  recognizes  her  calling  as  her  life-work. 

Any  young  woman  who,  after  prayerfully  considering  the 
foregoing  conditions,  has  the  desire  and  the  hope  that  God 
may  use  her  in  the  deaconess  calling,  should  apply  in  writing 
to  the  Pastor  or  the  Sister  Superior  of  the  Mary  J.  Drexel 
Home,  2100  South  College  Avenue,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  adding 
to  the  application:  (1)  A  sketch  of  her  life;  (2)  a  certified 
record  of  confirmation ;  (3)  the  written  consent  of  her  parents 
or  guardian;  (4)  a  testimonial  from  her  pastor;  and  (5)  a 
certificate  of  good  health  from  her  physician.  AVhen  her 
papers  are  found  satisfactory,  she  will  receive  i.otice  as  to  the 
time  when  she  may  enter. 


(78). 


Jlyuc^/^uluv'^^'^^^^ 


Maoul^^^l^ 


FORM   OF  BEQUEST   OF   MONEYS   OR   OTHER 
PERSONAL  PROPERTY. 

I    hereby   give    and   bequeath    to   the    "Mary   J.    Drexel    Home   ant 

Philadelphia  Motherhouse  of  Deaconesses,"  the  sum  of    

<$ ),  to  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  the  said  corporation. 

[seal.] 

Note. — If  the  personal  property  does   not  consist   of   money,   a  brief 

description  of  it  can  be  inserted,  instead  of  the  words  "the  sum  of 

dollars   ($ ),"  in  the  above  form  of  bequest. 


FORM  OF  DEVISE. 


I    hereby   give    and    devise    unto   the    "Mary   J.    Drexel   Home   and 

Philadelphia     IMotherhouse     of     Deaconesses,"     its     successc  s     and 

assigns,  all  that  certain   lot  or  piece  of  ground,  with  the  buildings  and 

improvements  thereon  erected,  situate  (follow  here  with  a  brief  description 

of  the  real  estate  intended  to  be  devised). 

[seal.] 

Note. — The  laws  of  Pennsylvania  provide  that  all  gifts,  devises  and 
"bequests  to  any  charitable  institution,  by  deed  or  will,  must  be  executed  at 
least  one  calendar  month  before  the  decease  of  the  donor  or  testator,  and 
attested  by  two  credible  and  at  the  time  disinterestd  witnesses. 

All  donations  of  moneys  intended  for  the  institution  should  be  sent 
to  the  Treasurer,  Mr.  Edmund  R.  Teubner,  office  of  Drexel  &  Co.,  Chestnut 
and  Fifth  Streets,  Philadelphia. 

All  donations  of  merchandise,  or  other  personal  property,  should  be 
sent  direct  to  the  Home,  addressed  to  the  "Sister  Superior,  Mary  J.  Drexel 
Home,  2100  South   College  Avenue,   Philadelphia. 


(80) 


pmdm  or 

0TOKRTZ   ft   9 


15371T> 

8-13-98    3^:1 


Princeton   Theoloqc:^!  Sprnmary-Speer  Library 


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